Sheikh Rehana's daughter Tulip Siddique is under pressure to resign from the UK's Finance Ministry after a report was published that she received a flat in London worth 700,000 pounds as a gift.

The London-based media outlet The Daily Mail reported this news in a report on Sunday (January 5).

The report said that Tulip Siddique, who is in charge of the country's Finance Ministry, is under pressure to resign due to lies about the flat located in the Kings Cross area of the UK.

However, Tulip told the Daily Mail that she did not receive the flat as a gift. Her parents bought it for her.

Meanwhile, the UK's Conservative Party MPs are demanding that Tulip step down from the Treasury Minister's post until she gives a proper explanation, the report said.

It was quoted as saying by Tory MP Bob Blackman that Tulip Siddique must clarify her position on her assets. She must tell the truth. If she doesn't, she is unacceptable as a minister.

Another MP, Matt Vickers, said that such allegations against a member of the government are unacceptable. And when someone is Starmer's anti-corruption minister, the matter is even more questionable.

Earlier, various media reports said that in 2004, a two-bedroom flat in the King's Cross area of London, Tulip Siddique was gifted by a developer named Abdul Motalif. Motalif was a close associate of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Gono Forum Emeritus President Dr. Kamal Hossain said that the only way to resolve the ongoing political instability in Bangladesh is political unity. The basis of this unity is our national consciousness, which is the consciousness of the Language Movement of '52, the Liberation War of '71, the Constitution of '72 and the mass uprising of '24.

He said this in a written speech at a press conference titled 'Announcement of the full central committee after the National Council-2024 and the contemporary political situation' organized by Gono Forum at the National Press Club in the capital on Sunday (January 5).

Dr. Kamal Hossain said, we have achieved a lot through the movement in one year. We have to continue that movement so that we can consolidate the unity of the people through the movement. Only by consolidating the unity of the people can we achieve everything. That is why we have always given importance to unity. Where there is division, our strength decreases. So let us all strengthen the Rajpath movement in the same way that we have achieved the blue goals of the country through the Rajpath movement.

In his written speech, he further said, the commitment of Bangladesh achieved through the great Liberation War was to establish equality, human dignity and justice. But even in the past 53 years, we have not been able to achieve the desired Bangladesh. Again, the spirit of the mass uprising of '24 is to build a democratic Bangladesh without discrimination. In this regard, a national unity has been developed among the students and the public. This power of youth must be utilized in the work of building the country. Everyone must be careful not to destroy it. Just as we cannot deviate from the spirit of building a democratic and humane Bangladesh free from discrimination desired by the Liberation War; similarly, we cannot let the dream and aspiration of establishing a new Bangladesh free from discrimination through the mass uprising of '24 be destroyed. These historical issues complement each other.

Today, it is an ongoing process for the state to amend or modernize the constitution to meet the aspirations of the people in the need of the hour. But if the issues achieved and resolved during the Liberation War are questioned, it will hinder our progress in establishing Bangladesh. We all have a responsibility in this regard.

He said that in the past years, the democratic institutions of the state had become almost ineffective due to shameless politicization. To reform all these institutions and create an environment for free, fair and impartial elections, it is the moral responsibility of all political parties and the people to provide reasonable time and comprehensive cooperation to the interim government formed under the leadership of internationally renowned personality Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus so that they are able to implement the desired reform program smoothly.

He said, on August 29, 1993, the Gono Forum was born with the country's eminent personalities, politicians, educationists, diplomats, lawyers, professionals, intellectuals and progressive-minded citizens with the aim of establishing a healthy politics against the existing unhealthy politics in Bangladesh.

The newly formed central committee of the Gono Forum was announced today through the National Council held in November-2024.

With hope for the committee, he said, I hope that the new leadership that is going to take charge in the party will be able to fulfill the aspirations of the people by embracing the declared policies and ideals of the Gono Forum. For this, the newly formed committee will build democracy among all political parties, individuals and civil society.

Although Tulip Siddique, the UK's finance and urban affairs minister, received a flat as a gift from a developer of Bangladeshi origin, she did not provide this information in any of her election affidavits.

London-based media outlet 'The Financial Times' reported this information in a report late on Friday (January 3), Bangladesh time.

The report said that a developer named Abdul Motalif gifted Tulip Siddique a 2-bedroom flat in London's King's Cross area in 2004. Motalif is also a close friend of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to The Financial Times.

The Financial Times also mentioned that Abdul Motalif bought the flat in January 2001 for 195,000 pounds (Tk. 293,000 in Bangladeshi currency).

The report also states that Tulip's parents helped real estate businessman Abdul Motalif financially during his difficult times. So, as a token of gratitude, they gave Tulip 'an asset' they owned.

Abdul Motalif, now 70, lives in southeast London. Another person named Motalif lives at Motalif's address in that area, Motalif's address. Motalif's father was an elected member of parliament from the Awami League in Bangladesh from 2014 to 2024.

According to UK electoral roll data, Tulip lived in the King's Cross flat for a few years after receiving it as a gift in 2004. Then her other siblings lived there for several more years. Tulip currently rents out the flat. She earns 90,000 pounds (Tk. 1 crore 35 lakh 68 thousand) annually from there.

Tulip Siddique, 42, first ran for the Hampstead seat in east London in the 2015 parliamentary election. Since then, Tulip has contested the seat four times, winning each time.

Before running for office, she was involved in the ‘Lobbing Unit and Election Strategy Team’ of the Awami League’s European Union (EU) and UK branches, as well as the Labor Party. This involvement played an important role in her election victory.

However, Tulip did not mention this flat in any election affidavit. She only mentioned flats in the High gate and Hampstead areas of the UK in the affidavit.

India has nothing new to say about the request to return Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh, said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This information was given in a report by the Indian media 'Times of India' on Friday (January 3).

The report said that it received a message from the Bangladesh government about a week ago to return Sheikh Hasina. However, he mentioned in the press conference that there is nothing new to say about Sheikh Hasina.

In addition, regarding former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Das, he said that India hopes that Chinmoy Das will get justice.

It is noteworthy that on December 23, Bangladesh sent a letter to India to send back former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity.