Technocrat ministers, PM advisers dropped

Technocrat ministers and advisers to the prime minister are dropped to trim the cabinet in the interim period leading to general election in Bangladesh, informed sources said.
They were learnt to have submitted their resignation letters Sunday to the Cabinet Division, in the process of maintaining a smaller cabinet during the election time as the government would perform only routine function in the interregnum as per constitutional provision.
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar, Minister of Science and Technology Architect Yeafesh Osman and Minister of State for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam resigned as technocrat ministers, they said.
Dr Gauhar Rizvi, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, Dr Mashiur Rahman, Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and Sajib Wazed Joy were learnt to have tendered their resignation from their positions as advisor to the prime minister.
"Since prime minister's adviser for private industry and investment Salman F Rahman is a Member of Parliament, he didn't tender his resignation," said one of the sources.
The step from the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came three days after the Election Commission rolled out poll schedule with January 7 as the date for voting in the crucial parliament election.
Incidentally, the election schedule was declared amid agitations by mainstream opposition BNP and like-minded parties to press for the polls to be conducted under a non-partisan regime.