President Abdul Hamid is scheduled to administer the oath of office to
new ministers today at Bangabhaban for reshuffle in the cabinet of
Sheikh Hasina ahead of the general elections.
‘The president will administer the oath to a number of ministers of the
all-party government at Bangabhaban on Monday afternoon,’ cabinet
secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters on Sunday.
He said the size of the interim government would be smaller than the previous cabinet.
‘The prime minister apprised the president of her plan today for forming
an all-party interim government to run the country before and during
the election period,’ the cabinet secretary added.
Earlier on the day, prime minister Sheikh Hasina told a cabinet meeting
that she would downsize her cabinet to run the polls-time
administration, declaring that it was the last routine meeting of the
cabinet in its present form.
Rashed Khan Menon of the Workers Party of Bangladesh told New Age that
he would join the polls-time cabinet under Sheikh Hasina.
Jatiya Party secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader said that he
along with at least six other JP lawmakers, including Rowshan Ershad,
Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mojibul Haque Chunnu, Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu and
Salma Islam, would be included in the interim cabinet.
Anisul Islam told New Age that he along with six others of his party would join the interim cabinet.
Existing cabinet members AMA Muhith, Syed Ashraful Islam, Obaidul
Quader, Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, Matia Chowdhury, Hasanul Haq Inu and GM
Quader are likely to continue as ministers, said officials adding that
their resignation had not been sent to the president and so they would
not require a fresh oath.
Senior Awami League leaders Tofail Ahmed and Amir Hossain Amu were also
requested to join the polls-time cabinet, said the officials and AL
policymakers.
The cabinet held its weekly meeting on Sunday, a week after all
ministers and state ministers had resigned from the cabinet of Sheikh
Hasina, triggering fresh controversy over its legality.
‘The prime minister has said that today’s cabinet meeting is the last
one in its present form. She will constitute an all-party government
with elected representatives from various parties in parliament,’
agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury told reporters.
She, however, said that Sheikh Hasina had not specified how many new
faces would be inducted in her smaller cabinet and how many of the
present ministers would be excluded.
Matia said all the ministers had submitted their resignation as per the desire of the prime minister.
Citing examples of other democracies, LGRD and cooperatives minister
Syed Ashraful Islam told the meeting that it was not legally essential
to downsize the present cabinet to oversee the polls scheduled to
be held by January 24 next year.
Most of the cabinet members handed over their resignation letters to the
prime minister on November 11 at the cabinet meeting while others
tendered resignations earlier to pave the way for formation of a
‘smaller cabinet’ with around 20-22 members, according to policymakers.
All ministers and state ministers, but Ershad-led Jatiya Party faction
leader GM Quader who resigned as commerce minister, continued holding
offices even after their resignation, raising questions over the
legality of their functions in the government.
GM Quader had informed the Cabinet Division that he could not attend the
weekly cabinet meeting due to unavoidable circumstances, the cabinet
secretary said.
Hasina on November 4 had asked her cabinet colleagues to resign so that
she could induct some new faces in the polls-time cabinet.
Experts have already questioned the legality of the functions of
ministers and state ministers in the government after their resignation.
The prime minister, however, clarified that members of her cabinet would
continue to hold offices until the president accepted their
resignations.
Hasina earlier offered formation of an all-party government to oversee
the next polls – a proposal turned down by the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
‘To my party, submitting resignation letter means resignation. Why
should I go to office after submitting resignation?’ GM Quader, also
presidium member of Jatiya Party, told New Age.
He said that that Jatiya Party had been a part of the Awami League-led
alliance for the 2008 elections and accordingly joined the government of
Sheikh Hasina.
Quader said that his resignation also meant that the Jatiya Party was no more with the AL-led alliance.
All other ministers and state ministers said that they would continue
holding the office until their resignations were accepted by the
president.
The cabinet on Wednesday convened its weekly meeting, inviting all
ministers and state ministers, who had already handed over their
resignations to the prime minister, amidst controversies over legality
of holding office after resignation.
Sheikh Hasina on November 4 had asked her cabinet colleagues to resign
so that she could induct some new faces in the planned smaller cabinet,
which she called ‘all party government’ to oversee the national polls
scheduled to be held by January 24 next year.
Experts questioned the legality of the functions of the ministers and
state ministers in the government after their resignations. (source)