Caretaker government takes power | The Daily Star

Yunus, 13 advisors swore oath; 3 others to take oath later

President Mohammed Shahabuddin swears in Prof. Muhammad Yunus as Chief Advisor to the Interim Government at Bangabhaban yesterday evening. Photo: PID

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President Mohammed Shahabuddin swears in Prof. Muhammad Yunus as Chief Advisor to the Interim Government at Bangabhaban yesterday evening. Photo: PID

The caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus took oath yesterday evening, four days after the resignation and departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amid mass student-led protests.

Professor Yunus, an 84-year-old microcredit advocate, has 16 advisers to fill the power vacuum in these turbulent times.

It is not clear how long the caretaker government will remain in power. The Daily Star asked four advisers last night but none were able to provide an answer.

He has been the subject of harsh criticism from Hasina and the Awami League for years.

There is a void in law and order as almost all police remain absent after widespread attacks on police stations and outposts. The attacks began even before the Hasina-led government fell on Monday. On the roads, students and volunteers have taken on the responsibility of directing traffic.

Political analysts say Yunus’s caretaker government must act quickly to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property, restore public order and a civilian administration that has been on the verge of collapse, and prepare a democratic atmosphere for the next general elections.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy to Prof. Yunus and 16 advisers at Bangabhaban Darbar Hall at around 9:30 p.m. Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain led the ceremony.

Professor Yunus, dressed in Grameen Punjab checks and a white waistcoat, arrived from his home in Gulshan at Bangabhaban and received a standing ovation.

In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with Grameen Bank for his work in creating “economic and social development from the bottom up.”

The new advisers are Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank; Asif Nazrul, a law professor at the University of Dhaka; Adilur Rahman, secretary of the human rights organisation Odhikar; Hassan Ariff, a former attorney general and adviser to the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed; Touhid Hossain, a former foreign minister; Syeda Rezwana Hasan, the chief executive of BELA; and Sharmeen Murshid, the chief executive of the election monitoring organisation Brotee.

The other advisers are Faruk-e-Azam, a freedom fighter; Brigadier General (retired) Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner; Supradip Chakma, chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board and a former ambassador; Bidhan Ranjan, a psychiatrist; AFM Khalid Hossain, nayeb-e-ameer of Hefazat-e-Islam and adviser to Islami Andolan Bangladesh; Farida Akhter, a women’s rights activist; and Nurjahan Begum, a member of the board of trustees of Grameen Telecom.

The advisory board also includes two key organizers of the student movement – ​​Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan.

The Cabinet Secretary informed that Supradip Chakma, Bidhan Ranjan Roy and Faruk-e-Azam could not be sworn in as they were outside the capital.

For the first time in the history of Bangladesh, students of the University of Dhaka are sitting on the advisory board. They now have the rank of minister.

The chief adviser to the interim government has the status of prime minister.

Student protests demanding reform of parity in government positions began on July 1 and gradually gained momentum as the government began to brutally crack down on them.

Despite assurances of no harassment, the AL government used excessive force, leading to more than 300 deaths. The protests turned into an anti-government movement last week and culminated in a popular uprising on Monday, when student organizers called on their compatriots to “march to Dhaka.”

This was in particular a response to the AL’s demonstration of political power on Sunday, in which at least 93 people were killed.

Following the fall of the government of military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad following a mass uprising, an interim government was formed in Bangladesh in 1991 under the leadership of Judge Shahabuddin Ahmed.

In 1996, another caretaker government was formed under the leadership of Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman. The caretaker system was introduced in the constitution in the face of a turbulent movement led by the Awami League.

Judge Latifur Rahman was the head of the caretaker government in 2001.

Then-President Iajuddin Ahmed also served as chief advisor to the caretaker government from October 2006 to January 2007.

A former central bank governor and economist, Fakhruddin took over as head of the caretaker government on January 12, 2007, at a time of serious political unrest.

In 2011, Hasina’s government abolished the caretaker government system.

Prof. Asif Nazrul said on August 6, “We are going to form a government in an emergency situation. There are various constitutional measures and customs to legalize certain activities. We will do it.”

Shahdeen Malik, a Supreme Court lawyer and noted legal commentator, said that in the context of such extraordinary political upheaval, full adherence to the constitution may prove impossible.