Bangladesh’s Hasina sworn in as PM for third term

A total of 29 lawmakers took oath as Cabinet ministers. 17 MPs were appointed as state ministers while two as deputy ministers.

Prominent among those who were dropped from the previous government were foreign minister Dipu Moni, home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and minister without a portfolio and minority leader Suranjit Sengupta.

Attired in an off-white sari, 66-year-old Hasina looked confident at the jam-packed Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban. She took oath pledging to preserve, protect and defend the national constitution and state sovereignty.

‘I am, Sheikh Hasina, taking oath...that I will discharge my duties faithfully as the prime minister of the government as per the law,’ Hasina said amid claps from the audience.

This is the third term for Hasina as prime minister. She had also served as prime minister during 1996-2001. Awami League won over two-thirds of parliament’s 300 seats in the January 5 polls which were described as a farce by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led 18-party opposition alliance. The opposition boycotted the polls demanding a neutral caretaker regime to oversee the polls. Over 160 people were killed in poll related violence since November.

Jatiya Party, headed by former military ruler H M Ershad, won 32 seats and likely to play the role of the main opposition in the parliament. BNP leaders were absent from the swearing-in ceremony. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Hasina up Sunday evening to convey his good wishes and also ‘wished her and the people of Bangladesh all success in the endeavour to strengthen democratic institutions in Bangladesh,’ said a statement.