Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party legal affairs secretary Badruddoza Badal on Wednesday described the resignation of 18 Jamaat-leaning deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general as a ‘political stunt’, questioning their conduct during their four months in office under the current government.

Speaking to reporters in front of the Supreme Court Annex Building in Dhaka, Badal, who was flanked by pro-BNP lawyers, reacted to the mass resignation of the law officers, who had submitted their resignation letters a day earlier.

He said that it had long been an established practice for law officers appointed by a government to step down voluntarily when a new administration assumed power.

‘Whenever a government changes, the attorney general, additional attorneys general, deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general usually resign on their own. This has always been the norm,’ he said.

Badal noted that the resigning law officers had continued to serve under the present government for four months, drawing salaries and enjoying official privileges before deciding to quit.

‘The interesting thing is that those who resigned Tuesday worked as law officers under this government for four months. They received salaries, enjoyed benefits and used their official designations. Suddenly they felt it was necessary to resign and raise political issues,’ he said.

He alleged that their statements following the resignation were politically motivated and inconsistent with the non-partisan role expected of state law officers.

‘Their remarks are nothing but political theatrics. They are politically driven, which is not something we expected from them,’ he added.

Badal also urged attorney general Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal to examine the role played by the resigning officials during their tenure.

He questioned whether the law officers had genuinely represented the state’s interests while serving in the Attorney General’s Office.

‘After receiving salaries, allowances and other benefits from the government, they have now taken a position against it. From what we have observed, they did not appear to have worked in the government’s interest. Their allegations are baseless, politically motivated and highly unfortunate,’ Badal said.