Ashraf now public admin minister

Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam has been given the public administration portfolio a week after his much-talked about removal from the LGRD ministry.

The Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification to this effect yesterday afternoon.

Ashraf was relieved of the LGRD ministry and made a minister without portfolio on July 9. Expatriates' Welfare Minister Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain replaced him.

The latest development comes after a series of one-to-one meetings between Ashraf and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over the last few days.

Meanwhile, Ashraf met Hasina at the Gono Bhaban after iftar yesterday. It was his fourth meeting with the PM since his removal from the LGRD ministry.

Earlier around 5:00pm, State Minister for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique and Senior Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury met him at his official residence on Bailey Road and greeted him with bouquets.

Ashraf told them that he would join office on Monday, the first working day after Eid vacation, a close aide to Ashraf told The Daily Star.

AL sources said Hasina held talks with her second-in-command in the party to normalise things, as his sudden removal caused a strong reaction inside the party and left the government with a sense of unease.

Many central leaders expressed resentment over his removal in off-the-record conversations with The Daily Star.

A section of AL leaders believes that it was not right to remove someone like Ashraf who is revered for his clean image.

Seeking anonymity, a senior AL leader said it became clear after Ashraf's removal that he has a huge following. "The government might not have realised it before."  

Hasina held three closed-door meetings with Ashraf and convinced him to take a new portfolio.

Ashraf, scheduled to leave Dhaka for the UK on Wednesday morning to celebrate the Eid with his family, postponed the visit at the PM's request. 

Party sources said Hasina asked him not to leave the country, thinking that his departure might complicate the situation.

Some central AL leaders close to Ashraf believe he at first didn't agree to take the new responsibility. The PM made him agree to take charge of the public administration ministry.

In their view, Ashraf's new portfolio is less important compared to  the LGRD and cooperatives portfolio. 

Some AL leaders said the PM asked Finance Minister AMA Muhith to persuade Ashraf to take the new job. Muhith visited him at his residence on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters yesterday, Muhith said a big side to Syed  Ashraf is that he is a very popular leader; this is because he is well-behaved.

Contacted, AL International Affairs Secretary Faruk Khan said the PM considered giving Ashraf the new responsibility to put to good use his skills and experience.

The PM held the public administration portfolio since the present cabinet's formation in January last year. With Ashraf's appointment yesterday, the ministry got its first full minister after 1990.

Over the last two days, there were rumours that Ashraf might be made deputy prime minister through an amendment to the constitution.  

When reporters asked Muhith about it, he said, “I know nothing about it”.

Ashraf's removal from the LGRD ministry also led to speculation that he might not continue as AL general secretary.

Asked about it, Muhith yesterday said there would be no change in that position.

“The post of general secretary of the party is a very important one,” Muhith told reporters at his secretariat office.

During the 2007-08 tenure of the last caretaker government, Ashraf served as acting general secretary of the AL and played a key role in holding the party together in the absence of party chief Hasina and the then general secretary Abdul Jalil. Both Hasina and Jalil were in jail at that time.

Ashraf was made LRGD minister when the AL formed the government after the 2008 parliamentary polls. He was elected AL general secretary in the party council in 2009, and was again elected to the same post in 2013.

As the AL retained power through last year's January 5 polls, Ashraf was again made LGRD minister.   

He also served as state minister for civil aviation and tourism during the 1996-2001 tenure of the AL government.