Dhaka – Former Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament and senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Jamiruddin Sircar has passed away at the age of 94.
The former speaker breathed his last at a private hospital in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, where he was undergoing treatment for age-related complications.
Sircar, who served as Speaker of the eighth parliament, was laid to rest at the parliament complex after his funeral prayers were held there.
Born on December 1, 1931, in the Nayabari village of Tetulia upazila in the northern district of Panchagarh, Sircar obtained his MA and LLB degrees from Dhaka University.
In 1961, he went to the United Kingdom for higher education and received a “Barrister-at-Law” degree from Lincoln’s Inn in London.
Upon returning home, he joined the legal profession and established himself as a renowned expert in constitutional, civil, and criminal law at the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended the funeral prayers of the former speaker, who also served as acting President of the republic. The funeral prayer was held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament in the late afternoon. After the prayer, the Prime Minister placed a floral wreath on the coffin of the deceased.
Earlier, seeking forgiveness for the departed soul of Sircar, Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal, Chief Whip Md. Nurul Islam, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Shafiqur Rahman, and BNP Secretary General and Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir delivered speeches. They highlighted various contributions of Sircar to the country.
On behalf of the family, his eldest son Muhammad Nowshad Jamir MP, spoke on the occasion. He sought prayers from everyone for the forgiveness and peace of his father’s soul.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, along with other Members of Parliament, participated in the funeral prayer.
