The day before the schedule for the 13th National Parliamentary Election was announced, the two student-representative advisers resigned. Yesterday, Wednesday evening, Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain submitted their resignation letters to the Chief Adviser.
Asif Mahmud had been in the interim government since 8 August 2024, the day the government was formed. He was in charge of the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Mahfuj Alam was initially the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. He was appointed on 28 August last year. On 10 November last year, he took oath as an adviser, though he was not given any ministerial portfolio at the time. After Nahid Islam resigned in February this year, he was assigned as the Information Adviser.
Altogether, Asif Mahmud served 15 months as adviser, and Mahfuj Alam served 13 months. This has prompted the question that how did they perform during their stay in government? The question arises because the student leaders who led the July mass uprising had spoken of a “new settlement.”
People had hoped that advisers emerging from the leadership of the mass uprising would at least take new initiatives to reduce irregularities, corruption, and waste. That they would avoid nepotism and prioritise the national interest by resisting pressure from vested groups.
To understand how the two departing advisers performed, Prothom Alo asked Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), an anti-corruption watchdog. He said the public had high expectations of the two student-representative advisers. He said it cannot be said that they fulfilled those expectations; rather, there are allegations of corruption in the ministries they oversaw and accusations of nepotism and conflict-of-interest against them.
The two departing advisers were asked to resign in mid-September. On this, Iftekharuzzaman said they did not resign then and clung to power. This did not set a good example.
Asif Mahmud’s 15 months
When the anti-discrimination student movement was at its peak and the Awami League government was on the verge of collapse, the “March to Dhaka” programme was announced. Originally scheduled for 6 August 2024, it was brought forward by a day to 5 August. The announcement came from Asif Mahmud himself, which accelerated the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Thus, Asif Mahmud’s role in the July mass uprising is significant. When the interim government was formed under Professor Muhammad Yunus on 8 August last year, Asif Mahmud was included from the beginning. Initially, he was in charge of the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In November last year, removing AF Hassan Ariff (late), Asif was given responsibility for the Local Government Ministry. Since then, he held the portfolios for Local Government and Sports.
In Bangladesh, the Minister of Local Government is traditionally the General Secretary of the ruling party, because the ministry always receives top-tier budget allocations. Ruling party leaders and workers benefit through its development projects. There had even been allegations that corruption in ministry projects was used for party fund-raising. There were discussions that such considerations were behind removing Hassan Ariff and appointing Asif Mahmud to this ministry—and questions were raised at the time.
Before resigning, Asif Mahmud held a press conference at the Secretariat yesterday, providing a long list of development activities and achievements under his ministry. He said that since he took over the Local Government Ministry, 23 projects had been approved with an estimated cost of Tk 327.65 billion. Another 21 projects awaiting approval were estimated at Tk 129.41 billion. For the 2024–25 fiscal year, he said LGED had built 4,700 km of roads at the upazila, union, and village levels, along with other infrastructure improvements. He also detailed achievements of the Department of Public Health Engineering, including development of water sources, drainage, and public health facilities. He said Tk 26 billion had been saved from 31 projects. He also mentioned e-rickshaw piloting, inaugurating a bridge over the Teesta river in Gaibandha, and abolishing party symbols in local government elections. He presented achievements of the Youth and Sports Ministry as well.
But in his written statement, there was no mention of what he had done to curb corruption and irregularities. No information on steps to ensure transparency, reduce waste, or improve project quality.
Before and during his time, there had been allegations of irregularities in appointments to major posts under the Local Government Ministry, corruption in projects, and the use of project vehicles without proper handover. Under Asif Mahmud, such allegations persisted. No change was seen. Project selection followed previous patterns.
For example, the departing Local Government adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain’s birthplace is Cumilla. During his tenure, LGED initiated a Tk 24 billion project for repairing and developing rural infrastructure in the district. The highest allocation (Tk 4.53 billion) was set for his own upazila, Muradnagar.
Early on, Asif Mahmud, his family members, and supporters became involved in political activities centered on Muradnagar. But eventually he decided not to contest from that constituency. Discussion then arose that he would contest from Dhaka-10 (Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, Hazaribagh, and New Market areas). He applied to become a voter in Dhanmondi instead of Muradnagar.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that the Local Government Ministry had approved special development allocations for 274 religious and social institutions in Dhaka. Of these, all but one were located in just three parliamentary constituencies of the capital. 145 mosques, madrasas, and temples were located in Dhaka-10 alone.
Several controversial projects were taken during his tenure. One such project—building libraries in 44 upazilas through the district councils—fell outside the mandate of the Department of Public Libraries, which knew nothing about it. The Local Government Division began constructing a memorial in Osmani Udyan to honor martyrs, though environmentalists objected because it is considered the “lungs of Dhaka.” The project cost is Tk 460 million.
Like the ICT Division under the previous Awami League government, which wasted money on freelancing training, the Youth Development Department took two similar projects under Asif’s tenure costing Tk 3.46 billion.
After joining the government, Asif Mahmud obtained a firearm license. In June, controversy erupted when airport authorities found a magazine with bullets in his bag at Shahjalal International Airport. He later said it accidentally ended up in his bag and that the magazine belonged to his licensed firearm.
In April, a report surfaced that his father, Billal Hossain, was listed as a contractor with LGED. The fact that the adviser’s father became a contractor for the very ministry the son oversaw sparked criticism as a clear conflict of interest. Asif later said that a local contractor had used his father’s identity for getting work and had suggested the license. He apologised on behalf of his father, saying his father did not understand the conflict-of-interest issue.
Under the previous Awami League government, Taqsem A Khan served as Managing Director of Dhaka WASA for 15 years. Despite allegations of irregularities, his tenure was extended. The interim government removed him. However, allegations remain over irregularities in the appointment process for the new WASA MD On 11 November, the Local Government Ministry appointed Abdus Salam Bapari, WASA’s Additional Chief Engineer, as MD. Appointment conditions were amended several times to make him eligible, and he was promoted before being shortlisted without any interview. Yet, he was appointed.
Asif Mahmud is also accused of directly interfering in the formation of the cricket board. He appointed district and divisional councilors as he saw fit, giving him control over electing board directors. Those he favored became directors.
Responding to various allegations yesterday, Asif said, “I’ve been accused of regional bias. Prothom Alo reported on a project from my area. We don’t know on what basis they reported on it before the project was approved. It hasn’t been approved by ECNEC and won’t be approved before the election schedule. So, the project won’t be passed.”
Asked about alleged corruption by his former APS, Moazzem Hossain, Asif said, “On social media I requested ACC to investigate. When allegations surfaced, I was confident I hadn’t enabled anyone to commit wrongdoing. So I requested ACC for further investigation. It’s now under their jurisdiction.”
Moazzem was removed last April after corruption allegations. He had been appointed APS just a week after Asif took office. As expected, the adviser also faced criticism for the allegations against his chosen APS. ACC initiated an inquiry, but there has been no progress.
Mahfuj Alam’s 13 months
When Professor Muhammad Yunus attended the UN General Assembly for the first time as head of the interim government, Mahfuj Alam accompanied him. The Chief Adviser introduced him on the world stage as the “mastermind” of the student–mass uprising, which drew considerable attention.
Mahfuj Alam had spoken on several occasions about equality, a new settlement, and political culture reform. But allegations emerged that he approved two private satellite TV licenses through the same process used by the former Awami League government. The licenses reportedly went to his political associates.
The main complaint against him was that he did not attend office regularly. Even when he did, he would come in the afternoon. For at least a week before resigning, he did not go to office at all.
The Media Reform Commission’s recommendations saw little initiative from him. Nothing happened regarding the journalist protection law. There was no progress on government disclosure of newspaper circulation numbers, raising advertisement rates, or ensuring transparency in government advertisement allocation.
Kamal Ahmed, head of the Media Reform Commission, told Prothom Alo that it is true that the recommendations of the commission were not implemented. As adviser, Mahfuj Alam should have taken initiative. But he didn’t—or couldn’t. Why he couldn’t, only he knows. It is said that bureaucrats did not cooperate with him. He couldn’t assert authority over them.
Kamal Ahmed added that Mahfuj Alam had said last September that he would at least enact a journalist protection law. He could not fulfill that promise either.
Mahfuj Alam’s elder brother, Mahbub Alam, is Joint Convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP). After the uprising, he was appointed a board member of the Red Crescent Society. Muntasir Mahmud, expelled from NCP, accused him of exerting his adviser brother’s influence there. Muntasir had been appointed Deputy Director after the uprising but was later dismissed.
Some political analysts believe the two departing advisers worked in a routine manner and had no notable achievements.
Researcher Altaf Parvez told Prothom Alo that as leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement, they joined the government. Their responsibility was to pursue reforms in their sectors and influence the government to meet public expectations after the uprising. It does not seem they succeeded.