The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also present at that meeting of the Awami League, the party that had led the Bengalis in the struggle for independence from Pakistan.
Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who heads the Awami League now, received the documents from the incumbent owner of the palace, Laila Raquib, and her sons at the Ganabhaban on Sunday.
Laila Raquib is the widow of the palace’s latest owner Kazi Abdur Raquib who inherited the property from his father.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the proposal on Aug 8 to buy the Palace in Old Dhaka’s Tikatuli for more than Tk 3.31 billion.
Hindu zamindar Hrishikesh Das built the palace in the late 19th century. Later Khan Bahadur Kazi Abdur Rashid bought it from him in 1936.
Between 1940 and 1960, Rose Garden was well known as a major landmark where all the famous people would mingle and hang out.
It is a registered heritage property of Bangladesh now.
The government will shift the museum at the Nagar Bhaban to the Rose Garden and exhibit the relics of Old Dhaka there.
The prime minister ordered the authorities to renovate the palace without making changes to its basic structure.
She handed the papers to Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor later. Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain was also present.