BNP's Tarique Rahman to be sworn in as Bangladesh PM on Feb 17; Modi invited

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath of office to the new cabinet of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman on February 17 at the National Parliament complex's South Plaza, a deviation from the tradition of the ceremony being held at the presidential palace, according to officials.

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"We have been informed that the President will administer the oath of office (to the new cabinet) on Tuesday at the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) complex," a Bangabhaban (presidential palace) official said on the condition of anonymity on Saturday.

CEC to swear new MPs

According to Prothom Alo and Ittefaq newspapers, the ceremony would be followed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin administering the oath of office to the newly elected parliament members instead of Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, as stated in the Constitution.

According to the Third Schedule of the Constitution, the CEC is the third choice for the job in the absence of the outgoing parliament's speaker and deputy speaker.

Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid said that in line with the Constitution, the President would administer the oath to the new cabinet at Bangabhaban. He, however, did not give a date for the ceremony. "If we are instructed or indicated that it will be held on a certain date and at a certain time, we will work accordingly. Even if it is tomorrow, we will have to prepare for tomorrow," the top bureaucrat said.

The Constitution requires the cabinet oath-taking ceremony to be followed by the swearing in of new parliament members.

Cabinet secretary replaced

Earlier on Saturday, one of Rahman's key aides, who did not wish to be named, said the existing scenario made things a little complicated. "The speaker of the last parliament is supposed to administer the oath of office to the MPs, but she resigned and is living in an undisclosed location while the deputy speaker is in jail," he said.

In these circumstances, he said, the President might select someone to administer the oath and "the Constitution kept a provision for that".

Meanwhile, the public administration issued a statement saying that Muhammad Yunus' interim government had scrapped Cabinet Secretary Rashid's contractual appointment, replacing him with Siraj Uddin Mia, who is currently serving as Chief Adviser Yunus' principal secretary.

Rashid, however, told reporters that he resigned a few days ago and his resignation was accepted on Saturday. Yunus' interim government appointed Rashid, a retired additional secretary to the government, as the top bureaucrat on October 14, 2024, for two years.

Modi invited, unlikely to attend

In a major diplomatic move, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government, has invited the heads of government from 13 countries to attend the upcoming oath-taking ceremony. The invitees include India, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan.

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India’s invitation is particularly significant, given the historical ties and close relations between Dhaka and New Delhi. Sources told NDTV that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been formally invited, he is unlikely to attend due to prior commitments in Mumbai on the same day with French President Emmanuel Macron. Instead, India is expected to be represented by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar or Vice President CP Radhakrishnan.