30 incumbent ministers dropped
A 29-member cabinet, including eight new and 21 existing ministers and state ministers, has been formed to oversee the next general election.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has forwarded the resignations of 16 ministers and 14 state ministers to President Md Abdul Hamid. The portfolios of the new members were announced through a gazette notification by the cabinet division. The portfolios of the existing 21 ministers and state ministers were also reshuffled.
The premier has retained the four ministries and divisions she held previously. These include the cabinet division, public administration ministry, defence ministry and the armed forces division.
Of the new ministers, Amir Hossain Amu will be in charge of the ministry of land and disaster management, Tofail Ahmed of industries and works, and president of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Rashed Khan Menon,
was allocated the ministry of posts
and telecommunications.
Of the five Jatiya Party (JP) leaders inducted into the cabinet, Rowshan Ershad, wife of JP chief HM Ershad, was given charge of the health ministry, JP general secretary Ruhul Amin Howlader got the ministry of civil aviation, and Anisul Islam Mahmud was named the water resources minister.
JP leader Mujibul Haque Chunnu was inducted as a state minister and was allocated the ministry of sports and youth. Another JP lawmaker Salma Islam would take over the charge of the women and children affairs ministry as a state minister.
Of the 21 incumbent ministers, there will be no change in portfolios for finance minister AMA Muhith, LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam, planning
minister AK Khondker, forest and environment minister Dr Hassan Mahmud, communications minister Obaidul Quader, commerce minister Ghulam Quader, and labour and expatriate minister Mossarraf Hossain.
Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid got the additional charge of primary education, agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury got the additional responsibility of livestock and fisheries, information minister Hasanul Haque Inu also got additional charge of cultural affairs, shipping minister Shahjahan Khan got additional charge of Liberation War affairs and railways minister Mujibul Haque got additional charge of religious affairs.
State minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, state minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs Diponkar Talukder, state minister for law Qamrul Islam, state minister for labour Munnujan Sufian and state minister for social welfare Promod Mankin also retained their portfolios.
The portfolios of two ministers were changed. Water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen was put in charge of the food ministry and disaster management minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali was shifted to the foreign ministry.
The 30 ministers and state ministers dropped from the cabinet are Shafique Ahmed, Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, Sahara Khatun, Suranjit Sengupta, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Rejaul Karim Hira, Enamul Haque Mostafa Shaheed, Abul Kalam Azad, Dilip Barua, Mohammad Farukh Khan, Dr Abdur Razzak, Dr Afsarul Amin, Dr AF Ruhul Huq, Dr Dipu Mani, Abdul Latif Biswas and Mostafa Faroque Mohammd. President Hamid has accepted their resignations, according to the gazette notification.
Former law minister Shafique Ahmed and former industries minister Dilip Barua were appointed as advisers to the Prime Minister.
On Monday, the cabinet division issued a circular for appointing another JP leader Zia Uddin Ahmed Bablu as adviser to the Prime Minister with the status of minister.
The President had administered the oath of office to eight leaders of the Awami League, Workers’ Party and the Jatiya Party at Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall at 3.10 pm on Monday (November 19) in the presence of the PM.
On Sunday, Sheikh Hasina had met Hamid and handed over resignations of her cabinet ministers.
The Awami League-led grand alliance government assumed office on January 6, 2009, with 32 members in the council of ministers.
-With The Independent input
