Jatiya Party chairman and ex-president HM Ershad on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for making him her special envoy.
The Jatiya Party chief, in a letter, also greeted the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina for becoming the country’s Prime Minister for the third time, said PM and Awami League chief’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury.
Sheikh Hasina along with 48 other members of her new government was sworn in on Sunday following her party’s ‘massive victory’ in the much-talked-about election to the 10th parliament.
Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became the Prime Minister for the third time and the second consecutive term.
The Prime Minister also inducted into her new 49-member Cabinet three leaders of Jatiya Party, the main opposition party in the 10th parliament. They are Anisul Islam Mahmud, Mujibul Haque (Chunnu) and Mashiur Rahman Ranga.
Hours after the oath-taking programme, the Prime Minister appointed Ershad, known for his frequent somersaults, as her special envoy with the status of a minister.
Earlier on Saturday, Ershad, who had long been staying at CMH following his announcement for boycotting the January-5 election, dramatically took oath as an MP.
He also joined the oath-taking ceremony at Bangabhaban on Sunday ending various speculations about him and his party’s stance on the election and new government as Ershad, a former military ruler, staged a series of dramas before the elections.
In early November, the Jatiya Party chief said they would not join the polls race if all the parties did not participate in it. Then in mid-November, Ershad’s party quit the AL-led grand alliance and joined the Sheikh Hasina-led polls-time government.
On the same day, Ershad also announced that JP would independently take part in the polls for the sake of democracy. But he changed his mind again on December 3 to announce the boycott.
Following his announcement to quit the January-5 election, intelligence men reportedly picked up Ershad from his Baridhara residence and took him to the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka under Rab escort on the night of December 12.
Rab officials claimed he was taken there for treatment, but Ershad in a statement later said the government had kept him confined for his refusal to take part in the election.
Ershad for the first time came out of the CMH on Saturday and took oath as a member of the 10th parliament and returned to his Baridhara residence on Sunday after attending the swearing-in programme.
Although Ershad declared that his party would not join the polls, a faction of Jatiya Party, led by his wife Raushan Ershad, took part in the much-talked-about election.
Ershad was elected MP in the election, though he had been at the hospital and did not join any election campaign, while his party became the main opposition in parliament with 33 seats amid the boycott by BNP.
Source: UNB Connect
