Three days after forming a multi-party interim Government amidst a standoff with the main Opposition BNP, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday dropped 30 ministers from the Cabinet during a redistribution of portfolios.
According to a gazette notification, 30 of the 51 members of the Cabinet were dropped. The interim Government was formed on Monday to conduct general elections due to be held by January 25 next year. High-profile ministers who lost their status included Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Home Minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir, Civil Aviation Minister Faruq Khan, Telecommunication Minister Sahara Khatun and Health Minister Ruhal Haque.
Two technocrat ministers who were dropped, Shafique Ahmed and Dilip Barua, were made the Prime Minister's advisors. The development came three days after the interim Government headed by Hasina was installed despite a boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The BNP has demanded that polls should be held under a neutral, non-party Government.