Editorial
Incongruous cabinet
PM's logic belied
IT seems that the PM is doling out ministership and post of advisors as largesse to any political party leader who is willing to join the Hasina bandwagon. This is an insult to the stature that a ministerial post carries, and violates the very spirit of a poll-time government. Certainly, credentials of some of the new inductees are questionable.
Not only is the size of the cabinet incompatible with the stated tasks of routine work and overseeing the election, induction of 11 advisors, all unelected persons, have negated the very logic Sheikh Hasina applied in discarding the CTG system. And whereas, under a CTG there were eleven persons in all, there are now thirty nine to do the same job.
The AL chief's action is an enticement, and perhaps even bait for these parties to participate in the general election, with the purpose of thwarting the BNP's attempt to boycott the same. This is a blatant misuse of not only constitutional proviso but also of state facilities to serve the political ends of the party. By doing so Sheikh Hasina may not have violated the letter of the Constitution but she has certainly abused its spirit.
We are constrained to say that the current political dispensation, with 28 ministers and 11 advisors, has nothing to do with ideology or principles or even greater national interest.
We deplore the misuse of the poll-time government perks and facilities to gain political advantage. This will certainly not go down well with the highly politically astute public.
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