Prof Muhammad Yunus is still the managing director of Grameen Bank and will continue to be so until the bank’s board of directors appoints a new MD, said Rokanuddin Mahmud, a counsel for the Nobel laureate, yesterday.
Rokanuddin’s statement came a day after the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed a High Court verdict upholding the removal of Yunus from the post of managing director of the microlender he had founded three decades ago.
Bangladesh Bank removed the Nobel laureate from the post through a letter on March 2, asking Grameen Bank’s board of directors to take steps to that end, Rokanuddin said at a media briefing in his Gulshan residence.
After the SC verdict, now the question is what will be the position of Prof Yunus in Grameen Bank, he said.
A person has to remain in an office out of necessity until a successor is appointed. It is not the case that Prof Yunus has to go right away, he has to hand over the charge to someone, Rokanuddin explained adding that the Bangladesh Bank letter also does not mention that Prof Yunus must leave right away.
He said no legal position operates in a vacuum, and therefore the post of managing director of Grameen also cannot function in a vacuum.
The next board meeting of Grameen Bank will be crucial, as the ball is in their court now, he added.
Asked whether the government has any say in who will be the next MD, Rokanuddin said as per the law there is no scope for the government to influence the process of appointing an MD.
The board of directors of the microlender may form a selection committee which may select a number of people from whom the board may finally pick one to appoint as the next MD, he said.
In reply to another question, he said the Bangladesh Bank letter does not give any deadline for appointing a new MD.
About the request of appointing Yunus as Grameen’s chairman, Rokanuddin said it is a matter for the government’s consideration, as only it has the authority to appoint a chairman.
Regarding the attorney general’s comment that Yunus has no right to remain as the MD of Grameen following the SC verdict, Rokanuddin said it is entirely a personal opinion of the attorney general.
About seeking a review of the court’s decision, he said they must look into the full text of the verdict before reaching a decision about the matter, as the text might contain many reasons for seeking a review.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
