The recent resignation of four advisers to the caretaker government, the first such incident in the history of caretaker governments, over President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed’s unilateral actions on election issues has further complicated the political turmoil in Bangladesh.
“It’s a serious blow to the present caretaker government and has irreparably challenged its credibility,” Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, a noted economist and former adviser to two caretaker governments in 1996 and 2001, reportedly said.
He asserted that replacing the resigned advisers with another set of advisers will hardly repair the credibility gap. In the first such incident in the history of caretaker governments, Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, Major General (Retd.) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, Shafi Sami and Sultana Kamal sent their resignation letters to the president on December 11, 42 days after they were sworn in the midst of an unstable political situation.
The advisers took the decision following Iajuddin’s unwillingness to reconstitute the Election Commission (EC) and his unilateral decision on army deployment in the country.
“I have resigned as I could not work for creating an atmosphere for a free and fair election,” said Khan.