State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Md Murad Hassan has submitted his resignation to the Secretariat following a directive from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The junior minister sent his resignation to the Secretariat at 12:00pm on Tuesday.
On Monday, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader told the media that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the state minister to resign from his post within a day.
The prime minister’s instruction came after Murad’s derogatory remarks during a telephonic conversation with a female actor went viral on social media.
His remarks drew flaks from the country’s women rights groups, rights activists and academicians apart from the BNP supporters and several former ruling Awami League female leaders.
“We wonder how a public representative, as well as a cabinet member, can make comments like a women-hater and racist person. How could he boast after making such remarks?” Naripokkho said in a statement signed by Tamanna Khan Popy on Sunday.
The organisation sought the intervention of the prime minister about taking punitive measures against Murad, who has always made the headlines by making statements about the BNP-Jamaat and the collaborators of the 1971 Liberation War.
Murad earlier stirred up controversy by making derogatory remarks against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her family members.
During an interview published on social media on Saturday, Murad called Khaleda a lecher and alleged that her granddaughter Zyma Rahman – daughter of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.
Last month, he demanded the posthumous trial of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman for masterminding the Bangabandhu assassination.
He recently drew flaks by saying that the state religion provision should not remain in the constitution, even though the party’s senior leadership is not considering the matter.
Meanwhile, BNP on Monday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make clear her stance on offensive comments made by the state minister.
“A very disgusting, derogatory and indecent campaign has been carried out on social media against the Zia family by an infamous person. I’ve heard he was a doctor probably from Jamalpur’s Sarishabari… shame on him,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
