Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reconstituted her cabinet, meant to oversee the next general election, shelving it to a 29-member one, dropping 30 ministers and state ministers and co-opting eight new faces.
The Cabinet Division published a gazette notification on the cabinet on Thursday, with 21 ministers and seven state ministers.
Of the 30 dropped cabinet members, 16 are ministers and 14 are state ministers.
The Prime Minister will oversee the Cabinet Division, Public Administration Ministry, Defence Ministry and the Armed Forces Division. She will also be in charge of the Home and Law ministries till further notice.
Of the six new ministers inducted into the cabinet on Monday, Amir Hossain Amu has been given the charge of Land, Disaster Management and Relief ministries while Tafail Ahmed Industries and Housing and Public Work ministries.
Jatiya Party senior presidium member Rawshan Ershad has got the Health and Family Welfare ministry while her party colleagues ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader the Civil Aviation and Tourism ministry and Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud Water Resources Ministry.
On the other hand, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon has been entrusted with the task of looking the Posts and Telecommunication ministry.
Among the two new state ministers, M Mujibul Haque Chunnu has been asked to take care of the Youth and Sports Ministry while Salma Islam the Women and Children Affairs ministry.
Of the old guards, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader, LGRD and Cooperatives Minster Syed Ashraful Islam and Planning Minister AK Khandaker remain in their previous charge.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has been given the additional charge of Fisheries and Livestock ministry while Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui of Science and Technology Ministry, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain of Labour and Employment Ministry, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu of Cultural Affairs Ministry, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan of Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Environment and Forests Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud of Liberation War Affairs Ministry and Railways Minister M Mujibul Haque was given the charge of Religious Affairs Ministry.
Of the old cabinet members, Ramesh Chandra Sen who was the Water Resources Minster has been made Food Minister while Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali has been given the responsibility of the Foreign Affairs Ministry instead of Disaster Management and Relief Ministry.
On the other hand, Barrister Shafique Ahmed who was in charge of the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry and Dilip Barua who was the Industries Minister have been made advisers to the Prime Minister.
Of the rest five junior ministers, Advocate Quamrul Islam, Begum Monnujan Sufian and Advocate Shamsul Hoque remain in their old job, while Dipankar Talukder has been made State Minister for CHT Affairs and Promad Mankin State Minister for Social Welfare.
The ministers who fell from the grace of the Prime Minister are Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, Advocate Shahara Khatun, Suranjit Sengupta, Dr Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, M Rejaul Karim Hira, Abul Kalam Azad, Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid, Muhammad Faruk Khan, Dr Abdur Razzaque, Dr Afsarul Ameen, Dr AFM Ruhal Haque, Dr Dipu Moni, Abdul Latif Biswas and Mostafa Faruk Mohammad.
The junior ministers who lost their jobs are Advocate Mostafizur Rahman, Captain (retd) AB Tajul Islam, Engineer Yeafesh Osman, Ahad Ali Sarker, Advocate M Shahjahan Miah, Advocate Abdul Mannan Khan, Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak, M Motahar Hossain, Mohammad Enamul Haque, Mojibur Rahman Fakir, Omor Faruk Chowdhury, Mahbubur Rahman, M Abdul Hye and Meher Afroz Chumki.
Source: UNB Connect