Don’t know the reason behind sending secretary to retirement: Info minister
The government has sent information and broadcasting secretary Md Mokbul Hossain to retirement with around one year of his service tenure left.
However, Information minister Hasan Mahmud said he does not know the reason behind sending the secretary to “forced retirement”.
“I don’t know the reason behind this. The public administration ministry could say the reason,” he told newspersons at the secretariat on Monday.
“Such things have happened in the past as well,” said the minister in response to a question of a newsperson.
The public administration ministry on Sunday issued a gazette notification regarding the retirement of Md. Mokbul Hossain.
According to the gazette notification, the secretary was sent to retirement from government service in the 'public interest' as per section 45 of the ‘Public Service Act, 2018’.
As per section 45 of the act, the government can send any government employees to retirement, in the public interest, after 25 years of service without showing any reasons given the approval of the president where he or she is the appointee.
Though the law says this, government employees at the secretariat have been discussing the matter among them and trying to speculate the reason behind the move. None from the public administration or information ministries are also speaking up about the specific reason behind his early retirement.
Senior secretary to public administration ministry KM Ali Azam signed the gazette notification.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “There is the law that anyone can retire voluntarily from the job upon completion of 25 years at service. At the same time, the government also can send anyone on retirement. Mokbul Hossain has been sent to retirement following all the rules.”
He declined to say anything more.
Mokbul Hossain attended office on Sunday too. He told Prothom Alo, “I did not apply for retirement.”
A top official of the information and broadcasting ministry said even they did not know anything about the incident.
Md Mokbul Hossain joined as secretary in the information and broadcasting ministry on 31 May 2021. Prior to joining the post he was working as registrar in the office of Joint Stock Companies and Firms. He also worked as additional secretary in the textiles and jute ministry.
He joined Bangladesh Civil Service in 1991 as an officer of 10th batch of BCS (Administration) cadre.
Mokbul Hossain is from Kumarkhali, Kushtia.