Jahangir new home adviser

Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain was replaced as home adviser by Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury last night, hours after four new advisers, including Jahangir, were sworn into office.

Sakhawat was given the charge of the textiles and jute ministry as the interim government redistributed the portfolios of eight advisers, according to the chief adviser's press wing.

The other new advisers are noted economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumdar and former power secretary Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to the four advisers at the Bangabhaban around 4:15pm. With them, the number of advisers to the interim government rose to 21.

In another development, the advisory council in a meeting yesterday approved the drafts of four ordinances, seeking to empower the government to remove the elected representatives of four local government bodies under "special circumstances".

Of the seven advisers, Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, two key organisers of the recent student movement that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, were given the additional charges of the information and broadcasting ministry and labour and employment ministry respectively.

Nahid is the adviser to the post, telecommunications and information technology ministry while Asif is at the helm of the youth and sports ministry.

Wahiduddin Mahmud, an adviser to the 1996 caretaker government, was given the charge of the planning and education ministries while Ali Imam Majumdar, who was appointed as special assistant to the chief adviser on Monday, was attached to the Chief Adviser's Office.

Fouzul Kabir, an economist and the founding chief executive officer of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), was given the responsibility of three ministries -- power, energy and mineral resources, road transport and bridges, and railway.

Jahangir, the new home adviser, will also hold the portfolio of the agriculture ministry. He served as the director general of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from January 21, 2003 to February 18, 2006.

Then quartermaster general of Bangladesh Army, Jahangir headed a 20-member army probe committee to investigate the carnage at the BDR's Pilkhana headquarters on February 25-26 in 2009 that left 74 people, including 57 army officers, dead.

The service of Jahangir was placed in the foreign ministry in December 2009. He went into retirement a year later.

Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat hogged the headlines for his various comments after assuming the office of the home adviser. A coordinator of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement criticised him for some comments while BNP and its three associate bodies demanded his resignation.

Sakhawat, also a former election commissioner, on August 11 warned all political parties and said, "Now, if you think you'll take control of the markets and resort to extortion, you can go ahead and do it for a while. But I have requested the army chief to break your legs… I don't care, go to hell."

The next day, he advised the Awami League leaders and activists not to do anything that may put their lives in danger, and to reorganise the party with new faces.

"No one has banned your party [Awami League]. Banning any party is a bad culture," he told reporters after visiting some injured Ansar members at the Combined Military Hospital in the capital.

Mentioning the contribution of AL to the country, the retired army official said, "We cannot deny it [AL's contribution]. Reorganise the party and participate in the election whenever it is held."

The same day, Hasnat Abdullah, one of the key coordinators of the student protests, at a rally said, "We have seen the advisers talking about rehabilitating the murderers [Sheikh Hasina and other Awami League leaders]. We want to remind those advisers that you have come to power through the student-people uprising.

"We will not hesitate to oust you the way we made you advisers."

PORTFOLIOS REDISTRIBUTED

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed was given the additional charge of the commerce ministry while Law Adviser Asif Nazrul was given the responsibility of the ministries of cultural affairs and expatriate welfare and overseas employment.

Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan was given the extra portfolio of the housing and public works ministry, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan was given the additional charge of the water resources ministry.

Liberation War Affairs Adviser Farooq-e-Azam, who took oath of office on August 12, will also be in charge of the disaster management and relief ministry.

The portfolios of the other advisers will remain unchanged, said the chief adviser's press wing.

Thirteen advisers of the interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, took office on August 8 after Awami League President Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country on August 5. Two more advisers took oath on August 11.

DRAFTS OF FOUR ORDINANCES OKAYED

The advisory council yesterday approved the drafts of the Local Government (city corporation) Ordinance-2024, Local Government (municipality) Ordinance-2024, Local Government (zilla parishad) Ordinance-2024, Local Government (upazila parishad) Ordinance-2024.

The advisory council felt the necessity of amending the four related acts regarding these local government bodies to ensure seamless services to the people and continue administrative activities for public interest in the current context, according to a press statement of the chief adviser's press wing.

The drafts will be placed before the president for promulgating ordinances.

According to the section 13 (Ka) (1) of the draft of the Local Government (city corporation) Ordinance-2024, in view of special circumstances, the government can remove the mayor and councillors of a city corporation in the public interest if it deems necessary.

The 13 (ka), (2) section of the draft said the authority defined by rule can, by order in the official gazette, make the removal of the mayors and councillors effective.

The government can also appoint "competent persons or officials" as the administrators to the city corporations until further notice, said the draft.

Similar provisions are there in the drafts of the three other ordinances to empower the government to remove the elected representatives of municipalities, zilla parishads, and upazila parishads in the public interest if it deems necessary.