16th amendment verdict: Quader clears party stance to president

Staff Correspondent: Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban amid ongoing debates over the Supreme Court’s verdict in the 16th amendment case.

In the meeting, Quader explained the party’s true stance on the verdict to the president.

Later, he briefed reporters after emerging from the meeting.

After exchanging Janmashtami greetings with the president, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha left Bangabhaban a little before Quader paid his visit there.

In reply to a query, Quader said, “I did not know the chief justice would be there.”

“I conveyed our party’s stance on the Supreme Court’s verdict in the 16th amendment case to the president. I explained the party’s stance on the verdict,” he added.

Earlier on July 3, the Supreme Court upheld a High Court verdict that had scrapped the 16th amendment to the constitution empowering parliament to remove the Supreme Court judges. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on August 1 released the full verdict that scrapped the 16th amendment to the constitution.

Huge criticism has been created among the judiciary, government and political parties after the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the 16th amendment to the constitution.

risingbd/Dhaka/Aug 14, 2017/Nripen/Amirul