3 surprise picks sworn in as advisers

Renowned filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, AkijBashir Group Managing Director Sk Bashir Uddin, and special assistant to chief adviser Mahfuj Alam were sworn in as advisers to the interim government last night.

The chief adviser also reassigned some advisers and appointed three special assistants who would be of the rank of state ministers.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath at Darbar Hall of the Bangabhaban in presence of the chief adviser, senior officials, and dignitaries.

With the inclusion of the three, the interim government now has 24 advisers.

Farooki, a familiar face for his critically acclaimed films and plays over the decades, was given the charge of the cultural affairs ministry.

Bashir, a leading businessman, is the adviser of commerce and jute and textile ministries.

Mahfuj Alam was yet to be assigned any ministry.

A student of 2015-16 academic session of Dhaka University’s Law Department, Mahfuj is a coordinator of the liaison committee of the student movement against discrimination. He was a pivotal figure in chalking up different programmes during the quota reforms protest that turned into a mass uprising in July.

PORTFOLIOS REDISTRIBUTED

According to a gazette notification issued by the cabinet division last night, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuiyan was given the charge of the Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) ministry and was relieved of the charge of labour and employment ministry.

Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, who was attached to the Chief Adviser’s Office, is now in charge of the food ministry, which Prof Yunus used to oversee.

Prof Yunus will now be in charge of four ministries and divisions instead of six.

He will be in charge of the Cabinet Division, the Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces Division, and the Ministry of Public Administration.

Alongside the land ministry, Hassan Ariff will now be in charge of the civil aviation ministry, which was under Prof Yunus.

Ariff was in charge of the LGRD ministry which will now be looked after by Asif Mahmud.

Asif Mahmud had been overseeing the labour and employment ministry but now Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hussain will be in charge of it along with the shipping ministry.

Finance Ministry Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed will not be overseeing commerce ministry as Bashir was assigned the ministry along with textile ministry which Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat used to run.

Asif Nazrul who used to run three ministries will now look after law and expatriate welfare ministries. Farooki will oversee cultural affairs ministry instead of Nazrul.

Prof Yunus yesterday appointed former inspector general of police Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Vice Chancellor Sayedur Rahman, and former Rajshahi University Prof M Aminul Islam as special assistants using the Rules of Business 1996, according to a cabinet division gazette issued last night.

They were entrusted with executive powers to assist advisers for the ministries of home, health, and education respectively.

The interim government was formed on August 8, following the fall of the Awami League government in the face of the student-led mass uprising, with Chief Adviser Yunus and 13 other advisers swearing in.

Two more advisers took oath on August 11. Another adviser took oath on August 13 and four more on August 16.

On August 8, for the first time in Bangladesh, two university students — Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud — were included in the advisory council.

Nahid and Asif were two key organisers of the student movement.

At just 26, Nahid and Asif are the youngest people ever to have the status of a minister.

Meanwhile, a group of people marched with lit torches and demonstrated near Bangabhaban in protest of the inclusion of Sk Bashir Uddin as an adviser.

They said Bashir is the brother of former Awami League MP Sk Afil Uddin.

Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the student movement, yesterday strongly criticised the selection of new advisers.

On his verified Facebook page, he said, “Thirteen advisers from just one division! But there is not a single adviser from the North Bengal, Rangpur and Rajshahi division’s 16 districts! On top of that, the killer Hasina’s lackeys are also becoming advisers!”

Ashrefa Khatun, another coordinator of the movement, wrote on her Facebook page that many of the coordinators were in the dark about the appointments of new advisers and only came to know about the development through Facebook.

The government does not give importance to the coordinators but people hold them responsible for the government’s failure.