Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has firmly denied making any remark that was tantamount to contempt of court and has accused the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of "putting pressure" on courts by launching a signature campaign to file a contempt case.

"A case has been filed against me. But I did not utter anything contemptuous. I am absolutely on the right track and did nothing violating the Constitution," Hasina asserted while speaking at a discussion in the city's Paltan Maidan. Her party, the Awami League, had organised the gathering.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Mainul Hosein had filed the contempt case with the high court on Wednesday. The suit followed Hasina saying in a BBC interview that criminals get bail and carry out their criminal activities. For this, judges and lawyers should be held accountable.

Referring to her remarks during the BBC interview, Hasina said, "I said nothing wrong. I will continue to say so if that brings any relief to the people seeking justice. I am least bothered about the filing of any case against me so long as I know I have done something for the benefit of my people".

"In fact, what they (BNP) are doing is contemptuous. The court will decide whether I passed contemptuous remarks. Why are they holding meetings after meetings and terming it contempt of court?"

Meanwhile, the SCBA is facing a split following the filing of the contempt suit against Hasina by its president, as a rival group of lawyers has convened a requisition meeting of the SCBA, sources said.

The suit against Hasina has come under criticism from SCBA secretary Shahidul Karim Siddiqui who accused Mainul Hosein of violating the Constitution of the association, which, he claimed, authorizes only the former to deal with legal matters. But Hosein denied this saying that the Executive Committee of the SCBA had authorized him to file the suit. The secretary was "relieved" of his task when he expressed his inability to file the suit, he added.

According to the Contempt of Court Act of 1926, the maximum punishment for contempt of court is a jail term for six months and/or a fine of Taka 2,000.

India Abroad News Service