Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said implementing their party's election manifesto is the main challenge for the 47 new cabinet members who were sworn in today.

Talking to reporters at Bangabhaban just after the oath-taking ceremony of the cabinet members, he said, “Now our main challenge is to implement the manifesto that our party presented before the election. We’ll work at various stages for implementing it.”

Quader said he could have understood through discussions with their party President Sheikh Hasina that the new cabinet would have big surprises. “But, I think, nobody is going to lose anything. Nobody is dropped, but there’re changes in responsibilities.”

He said many ministers of the last cabinet were not included in the new one in the interest of the party. “We would like to make our party smarter and stronger further under their leadership.”

“We don’t want our party to end up in government. To maintain the separate entities of both the government and the party, responsible leaders must take the responsibility of the party. So, some of our leaders will now discharge government responsibility while others that of the party. So, it’s a matter of change in their responsibilities,” Quader said.

He said those who become cabinet members cannot properly discharge their due responsibilities of the party. “So, we must streamline the party and make it stronger to face the challenges of implementing our election manifesto.”

Quader renewed his call to Jatiya Oikyafront to show respect for people’s verdict by sending their elected MPs to parliament.

Replying to a question, he said though no MP of their party’s alliance partners is inducted in the cabinet, the 14 alliance partners are united and working together with Awami League. “It can’t be said our alliance has got split based on whether there is any representation of them in the cabinet or not.”

During its five-year tenure, the Awami League general secretary said the cabinet will witness expansions and reshuffles. “Some leaders may lose their cabinet portfolios halfway through based on their performances and some leaders may be included afresh the same way.”

He also said those cabinet members will not be able to perform well will lose their positions after evaluation.

Earlier, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina took oath as Prime Minister of the country for the 3rd consecutive term along with her 46 cabinet members following her party’s massive victory in the 11th national election.

Through the oath taking of new ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers, the country gets a cabinet with all members from the AL after 1973 while Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister for record fourth time.

President Abdul Hamid administered the oath to the Prime Minister at 3:40pm while to 24 ministers at 3:46pm, to 19 state ministers at 3:53 pm and to three deputy ministers at 3:57pm at Bangabhaban.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the government is working to establish a rail network across the country for providing transportation to people and goods at a cheaper rate.

"There will be a rail line from Dhaka to Chattogram, Chattogram to Cox's Bazar and Ghundum. We'll build the Railways stronger and we have plans," she said.

The Prime Minister said this while laying the foundation stone of the 4.8km long double-line dual-gauge Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the river Jamuna-- aimed at increasing the rail communication between the capital and Western zone of the Railway.

She said that the government will set up a rail line from Dhaka to Payra Port via Barishal and Patuakhali.

"We'll start a feasibility study, we've taken initiative in that regard," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said that after assuming power, the government has done a massive expansion in the railway sector through various steps including procuring new locomotives and compartments.

"Now, Railways are giving service to the people, contributing especially in carrying goods. Above all, during the COVID-19, Railways is giving the highest service to the people," she said.

Recalling the suicidal decision of the BNP government to strangle the railway sector, the Prime Minister said that the government again revived the sector through various time-befitting decisions.

She said that the government is developing and modernising the communication network of the whole country apart from diversifying it so that it could contribute a lot in enhancing the socio-economic condition of the people.

She mentioned that the government is implementing various massive programmes for the overall development of water, rail and airways.

Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan, Ambassador of Japan Ito Naoki and Railways secretary Md Selim Reza also spoke at the programme.

Hearing the ruling party's general secretary say that the BNP's October 28 rally in the capital would face a similar reaction as did the one on December 10 last year, we can now gauge what the intention of the government is. Perhaps, many of us have already started adjusting our diaries, out of fear of violence or to avoid harassment in the name of heightened security. The possibility of another unannounced shutdown (better to be called a hartal enforced by the supporters of the ruling party) may also encourage them to leave Dhaka simply to avoid any additional suffering.

The warning given to BNP by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for its expressed intent is undoubtedly worrying and deplorable. On the other hand, it is also an admission that the government did crack down on the opposition on December 7, 2022, for which they had so far put the blame on BNP's alleged subversive activities.

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Many questions still remain unanswered as to why the government was so desperate to deter BNP from holding a mass rally in front of the latter's central office, to the extent that police had to storm the party office in Nayapaltan, clear the whole area, and term it a no-go zone for about a week. Can anyone forget that a simple dispute over a venue had caused so much trouble not even a year ago?

There's little doubt that the government's refusal to participate in open talks with the opposition – and find a way of holding a credible election according to international standards – is prolonging BNP's agitation. To make things worse, the ruling party's counter programmes, aimed at keeping a hold on the streets, have already caused trouble across the country as AL members have interpreted this as a directive to deny the opposition any space for holding protests.

In the end, the authorities did allow BNP to hold its grand rally on the day, only a few kilometres away. But in the meantime, one person had to die, tens of people were injured, and a couple of the opposition's top leaders were imprisoned. It was then reported that police had fired at least 1,780 rounds of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, and sound grenades during the clash. Instead of a supposedly day-long disruption to normal city life, it became such a prolonged nightmare for citizens that the restriction of their movement did not stop at random frisking/checking of people and vehicles, but also infringed their rights to privacy by way of law enforcers going through the contents of citizens' personal mobile phones.

The violent suppression of the opposition's protest also alarmed the international community. Expressing concerns over reports of intimidation, political violence, harassment by police, arrests of opposition party members, and restrictions on the ability of opposition parties to meet and hold peaceful rallies, the United States called for guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly and refraining from using excessive force against protesters. The UN and a number of rights groups also joined voices in support of allowing peaceful protests.

Early indications, such as suing and detaining opposition activists on charges of alleged "subversion," suggest that the threat of the December 10 situation being repeated should not be taken lightly. Despite the fact that the nature of our politics is historically confrontational, the current round of protests spearheaded by BNP is reasonably peaceful. But the vocabulary used by leaders of the ruling party, and by Obaidul Quader in particular, seem to be aimed at fuelling anger and escalating tension. Human Rights Watch has already called it, saying "threats against opposition leaders undermine election integrity." Quader's earlier warnings include a threat of "pouring uranium" on the head of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and not allowing him to return to Dhaka.

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Many observers have hoped that the ruling party will change its strategy and strive to improve the political climate ahead of the election, since the government has been seen trying to convince the international community that it will deliver a free and fair election. Despite this pledge, the international community is far from convinced due to the controversies surrounding the elections in 2014 and 2018. The current Election Commission, too, has admitted that it's been a victim of the fallout of those sham elections. Given this context, the US announced a visa policy regarding "individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh."

There's little doubt that the government's refusal to participate in open talks with the opposition – and find a way of holding a credible election according to international standards – is prolonging BNP's agitation. To make things worse, the ruling party's counter programmes, aimed at keeping a hold on the streets, have already caused trouble across the country as AL members have interpreted this as a directive to deny the opposition any space for holding protests.

Read more

Why is the EU pulling out of observing our election?

It is quite perplexing why the government seems set to repeat the measures that led to horrifying consequences between December 7 and 11 in 2022. No one wants to see the SWAT being deployed in battle gear to tackle a political protest. If a political party wants to stage a sit-in protest, why should they be denied that right? Didn't the Awami League itself stage such protests many years ago, and in order to demand the introduction of a caretaker government system, no less?

In any case, resolving differences over election management, instead of suppressing protest, would also be in the best interests of the country's economy. The US visa policy, undeniably, has unnerved our business community the most as they can ill afford any penalty imposed on the economy, which has already been experiencing its devastating shocks.

Kamal Ahmed is an independent journalist. His X handle is @ahmedka1

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today directed the authorities concerned to curb food adulteration in Bangladesh, alongside creating awareness among businesspeople against such offences.

"You'll have to make them [unscrupulous businesspeople] understand the offenses and curb it [offences] with an iron hand. It's essential to take both measures simultaneously," she said.

The prime minister said this while addressing a programme held at InterContinental Dhaka, marking National Food Safety Day-2021. She joined the event virtually from her official residence Gono Bhaban.

This year, the day is being observed with the theme ''Tekshoi Unnayan -- Shomriddho Desh, Nirapod Khadyer Bangladesh".

Sheikh Hasina said unscrupulous businesspeople sell adulterated or substandard food items to earn extra money, harming public health. "They should realise that they can make the same profit by selling safe food," she said.

Mentioning that a central food testing laboratory is being set up in the country, the premier instructed the relevant authorities to take steps for setting up one food testing laboratory in every divisional city as well.

Laboratory testing certification is essential to export agricultural products -- most important for exporting food items -- the prime minister said, adding that there is a scope of setting up food-testing systems at the rural level.

Referring to the safe food plan being implemented in 100 food-related industries, Hasina asked the authorities concerned to execute it throughout the country gradually. "It'll have to be taken up to the village level," she said.