The country’s general elections are going to take place within January 24 next year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the secretaries of different ministries and divisions on Monday. “As per the constitutional requirements, Parliament will continue for three months from October 27 this year. However, it will not go into session,” Sheikh Hasina told the secretaries at the sixth meeting of the secretaries, held at the Bangladesh Secretariat. This was possibly the last meeting of secretaries with the Prime Minister.
The Premier also informed that the Cabinet will not take any policy decision during this period (October 27, 2013 to January 24, 2014).
If the Election Commission announces the schedule for the parliamentary elections on January 24, 2014, the House cannot go to session for three months though it (Parliament) will continue.
When asked if the elections do not take place within the schedule, cabinet secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan iterated at a briefing that the polls will take place within the next 90 days.
During the meeting with the secretaries, Sheikh Hasina, who is also the president of the ruling Awami League, sought the cooperation of the top government officials and urged them to remain alert so that no unconstitutional force could come to power, in order to keep the democratic process alive, a secretary told this correspondent after the meeting. During the meeting, at least 25 secretaries of different ministries and divisions participated in discussions with the Prime Minister.
The secretaries urged the Premier to take necessary measures to issue a gazette notification for establishing a permanent Pay Commission, as announced by the Prime Minister recently. “They suggested that if the Pay Commission is not established now through a gazette notification, it will be difficult to materialise it. After listening to the secretaries, the Prime Minister assured them that necessary measures would be taken to meet their demand,” a secretary informed this correspondent.
During the meeting, a secretary proposed to the Prime Minister that jeeps be provided for the secretaries in different ministries for use outside the capital. The Premier, however, made no comment on this proposal.
The topmost officials also sought a monogram or a special flag of the ministries concerned, which they intend to carry on their cars, so that they could be identified as secretaries. They pointed out that the cars of joint secretaries and those of above ranks are using flag stands in their cars, creating difficulties in identifying the status of the officials. But the Premier did not make any commitment, a secretary said.
The secretaries also referred to the issue of promotions of civil bureaucrats at all levels. The PM directed that necessary steps be taken in this regard.
Sheikh Hasina urged the secretaries to complete the ongoing development projects, taken up by the government, during the tenure of her government. If they are not completed on time, she asked them to continue the projects for the sake of development.
According to sources, the secretaries’ meeting also discussed some other issues, including implementation of Cabinet decisions, implementation of the annual development programme (ADP), law and order, improvement of civil bureaucracy, food security, preparations for natural calamities, fertiliser management, strengthening of the local government, and field inspections.
-With The Independent input
