Bangladesh on Tuesday entered a new phase after two years of uncertainty as Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chief Tarique Rahman was sworn in as the Prime Minister. Tarique has a tough task at hand as he will have to oversee the healing and reconstruction of the country that went through deadly protests and chaos.
In the first election after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced out, the Tarique Rahman-led BNP alliance secured 212 seats of the 299 seats that went to polls on February 12.
Other than stabilising Bangladesh’s economy, Tarique Rahman will also have to take the tough call on political reforms as envisaged in the July Charter drafted by the interim administration of Muhammad Yunus.
The July Charter, which was approved in a referendum held along with the national election, gives the mandate to the incoming government to bring changes to Bangladesh’s Constitution and democratic institutions.
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That is the first and crucial test for him as the Jamaat-e-Islami-led Opposition squared off against the BNP government on Tuesday by boycotting the swearing-in ceremony. The boycott was over BNP MPs not taking an oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Commission.
The Jamaat and the NCP have warned of street protests if reforms aren’t carried out.
Bangladesh can ill afford another phase of street protests with its economy, which boomed during the rule of the Awami League government of Hasina, taking a hit due to political uncertainties.
Among the key tasks is mending Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi. The Yunus-led interim administration saw bilateral ties hit a new low amid the release of anti-India terrorists and kid-gloving of India baiters.
Both sides are hoping that ties will get warmer as the BNP-led government takes over. Tarique’s swearing-in ceremony was attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. PM Narendra Modi earlier congratulated Tarique on the BNP’s landslide victory in the election.
Tarique’s council of ministers was sworn in along with him. His team will comprise 25 Cabinet ministers and 24 junior ministers, including two technocrats. A Hindu and a Buddhist MP are part of the ministerial team.
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament will be Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman and the chief whip will be NCP leader Nahid Islam.
Nahid was part of the Yunus administration but quit to form and led the NCP. The party has six MPs while the Jamaat won 66 seats.
On Monday, Yunus resigned as the Chief Adviser to the interim administration after heading it for 18 months.
There will be the demand to seek the return of Sheikh Hasina from India as there will be close scrutiny of foreign policy in a nation that has seen anti-India sentiments in recent years, particularly in the last years of the Hasina regime.
Balancing Bangladesh’s sovereign policy amid a rise of Islamist fundamentalism and threats of protests over reforms, and reviving the economy will not be an easy task for the new prime Minister. Bangladesh will be hoping for a transformation, and from today begins Tarique Rahman’s trial by fire.
