Interim govt to be sworn in today

The interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus is likely to be sworn in on Thursday.

Army chief General Wakar-Uz-Zaman said in a press conference on Wednesday that the members of the interim government could be 15.

Meanwhile, in a message to the people, Dr. Yunus said, “We should not lose this victory because of any mistake.”

There has been virtually no government in the country for three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the face of the student movement. As a result, different political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), are urging for the formation of an interim government as soon as possible.

Dr. Yunus was staying in Paris. A government source said that he left for the country from there Wednesday. He is scheduled to arrive at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 2:10 pm today, Thursday.

As a result, taking into consideration the time of Dr. Yunus’ return to the country, preparations have been made for the swearing-in ceremony of the interim government at Bangabhaban at 8:00 tonight, government sources said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the army chief said in a press conference at the army headquarters that he contacted Dr. Yunus and talked about the oath ceremony. He, however, did not say anything about who will be the other advisers of the government.

It has been decided to form the next interim government of the country headed by Nobel laureate economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

The decision was made from a meeting of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the chiefs of the three services and the coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination at Bangabhaban Tuesday night.

The army chief also highlighted that decision in his press conference Wednesday.

There has been no information on who else to be included in the interim government. However, there are discussions in the political arena about several lists of probable members.

The Students Against Discrimination, the platform that led the quota reform movement which later morphed into the movement to dethrone the government, has reportedly prepared a list of 15 names.

The list will be finalised after discussions with Dr. Yunus after he returns home today.

According to several sources of BNP, the leaders of the student movement met BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Wednesday and discussed the list.

The Students Against Discrimination has formed a liaison committee to discuss with various parties.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mahfuz Alam, a student of law department at Dhaka University and a member of the committee, said on Wednesday night, “A coordinated outline could be announced Thursday. Discussions about the persons to be included in the interim government and the number of members are going on with different sides.”

He further said they would discuss with Dr. Yunus about the criteria and outline for portfolio distribution upon his arrival in the country today.

Nasir Abdullah, another liaison committee member and a student of marketing department at Dhaka University, said, “On behalf of the liaison committee we talked to the representatives of political parties and civil society members. They have proposed many names. Discussion is going on with all sides.”

Speaking about discussions with the political parties, he said, “There were discussions on what the political parties want to see and how, what would be better, how could overcome the political vacuum. Everyone trusted the students.”

Relevant sources said the SAD leaders demanded that two of their representatives should be included in the interim government. The president also wants to propose one or two persons. But the political parties are suspicious as to why the president would propose persons of his liking.

Before drawing up a list of persons of their choice, the Students Against Discrimination leaders talked to different political parties. The parties also proposed some names to them. However, the political parties want to submit the names directly to the president.

Leaders of several political parties complained that the president talked about discussing with them before nominating the other members of the interim government but they were not informed anything until Wednesday afternoon. The BNP leaders said they have sent a message to the president for discussion in this regard.

Sources said being the head of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus may also have some persons of choice to run the government. Names of other members will be finalised after discussion with him upon his arrival in the country today.