Former President and Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad has been appointed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s special envoy with the status of a minister.
Published : 12 Jan 2014, 06:26 PM
HT Imam has been made Hasina’s advisor on political affairs, Gowher Rizvi on foreign affairs, Mashiur Rahman on economic affairs, and Tarek Siddiqui on defence.
The four had been advisors to Hasina during her 2009-13 term.
However, Imam and Mashiur were dropped from their posts as advisors in November last year.
This time, Syed Moddasser Ali, who was Hasina’s health affairs advisor, and Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury, energy affairs advisor, have been dropped.
Jatiya Party (JP) chief Anwar Hossain Manju, who was an advisor to the Prime Minister, has been made a full minister in the new Cabinet.
However, Ershad-led Jatiya Party’s Presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu has been left out.
Ershad’s party has emerged as the main opposition in the 10th Parliament and his wife Raushan Ershad has been officially named the Leader of the Opposition.
The former military dictator had quit the alliance led by Hasina’s party Awami League months before the polls.
As the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers drew near, Ershad ordered his party candidates to quit.
However, the Jatiya Party won a total of 33 seats - 20 of them uncontested - in the general elections, boycotted by the BNP and its allies.
Ershad had stuck to his decision not to contest the polls. But he was elected from the Rangpur-3 constituency, as his application for the withdrawal of his nomination was rejected on technical grounds.
He was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital on Dec 12. Although the government said he had been admitted there for treatment, a faction of the Jatiya Party claimed their Chairman was being incarcerated as he had decided to back off from the polls.
The former President did not take oath last Thursday with other MPs but showed up at Parliament on Saturday. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered his oath.
Chaudhury had asked him with a smile, “So, you have come?”
“I had to,” Ershad said, “since the people of Rangpur had elected me.”
On Jan 9, Ershad’s wife Raushan Ershad had said in a press briefing: “The Chairman of our party has said he was the President of the country and so, cannot take part in the oath taking ceremony as the Leader of the Opposition.
“He told me, ‘you become the Opposition Leader. My blessings will be with you’.”