Attorney General AM Amin Uddin has said there was no directive from his office to issue a counter-statement against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, a day after DAG Imran Ahmed Bhuiya told reporters he had refused to sign a statement allegedly prepared by the Attorney General’s Office in protest against a letter world leaders in support of Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.

"DAG Imran did this to please someone," Amin Uddin said at a press briefing at his office on Tuesday.

"Yesterday was his day off, and he had no official duty. Yet, he appeared in a suit and conducted a briefing. I urge you (journalists) to investigate and discover the motive behind his briefing, who he wanted to please and why?"

"On the first day when 160 people issued a statement in support of Dr Yunus, I, as attorney general, pointed out that their statement was not correct. They were unaware that Dr Yunus's petition had been rejected twice by the Supreme Court,” the AG added.

The attorney general said: “Once the Supreme Court makes a decision, it can not be administratively withdrawn. Those who made statements in support of Dr Yunus were unaware of this fact, which is why I clarified it on the first day.”

"Now, with the attorney general's clarification, do deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general still need to sign a statement? What do you, the journalists, think? I want to emphasize that I never instructed everyone to sign a statement; that was never the case."

“I did not say everyone has to sign it,” he explained.

He further said: "If he thought I had issued such an instruction, he could have simply asked me for clarification. He did not want to know that. What does that mean? How did he know I had asked him to sign without asking me?"

When asked if he plans to take any action against the deputy attorney general, Attorney General AM Amin replied: "I am not one to take disciplinary action against him. I am not involved in such matters, as is widely known."

Deputy Attorney General Imran Ahmed Bhuiya on Monday said: “More than 160 global leaders gave a statement in an open letter to the prime minister. I believe that Dr Yunus has been harassed using the judiciary. The Attorney General’s Office has decided to provide a counter statement and a directive was issued to sign the statement prepared by the office of AG through a WhatsApp group of lawyers.”

“But I will not sign as I believe that the trial of Dr Yunus could be handled in other ways,” he added.

Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said Deputy Attorney General Imran Ahmed Bhuiya has violated the state's discipline by announcing that he will not sign a statement against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.

When asked about taking action against the deputy attorney, the law minister said: "The deputy attorney general’s office will be investigated, following existing laws."