No leader of the Awami League, the party which governed the country for 15 years till August 5th, was invited to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new interim government to be headed by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus at Bangabhaban on Thursday.
Many politicians from different political parties were joined by dignitaries, top military and civil officials, students and journalists, to attend the oath ceremony.
President Mohammad Shahabuddin administered the oath to Prof Yunus as chief advisor and other members of the interim government at 9pm.
The absence of any AL leaders contrasted with the presence of a number of the BNP's frontline leaders, who were out in force.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Moyeen Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury were among those seated at the front row, while a number of other leaders of the party also attended the programme.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader, Krishak Sramik Janata League President Bangabir Kader Siddique, LDP President Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, JSD President ASM Abdur Rab, Chief Coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan Zonayed Saki, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Sharif Nurul Ambia, Dr Reza Kibria, Bobby Hajjaj, and Nurul Haque Nur were also present.
Besides, Chairman of Ha-meem Group and independent MP from Cumilla AK Azad, Jatiya Party leader Advocate Salma Islam, and a 40-member team of students, who led the protest movement that brought about the downfall of the AL government led by Sheikh Hasina last Monday, were present.
The symbolism didn't end with those in attendance. Inside the hall where the oath was administered, on the ceremonial wall that stood in the background, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's portrait was visible above one of the pillars. The portrait of his daughter Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as prime minister and fled the country last Monday, had been removed.
Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain conducted the ceremony.
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus is the Chief Adviser of the 17-member interim government, while former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Dhaka University Professor Dr Asif Nazrul, right activist Adilur Rahman Khan, former attorney general AF Hassan Arif, former foreign secretary M Touhid Hossain, Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive Officer of Brotee Sharmeen Murshid, Faruq-e-Azam Bir Protik, former Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB) Supradip Chakma, Director cum Professor (Psychiatry) of National Institute of Mental Health & Hospital Prof Dr Bidhan Ranjan Roy, Hefazat-e-Islam’s Nayeb-e-Ameer and Islami Andolan Bangladesh adviser AFM Khalid Hossain, women’s rights activist Farida Akhter, Grameen Telecom trustee Nurjahan Begum, student coordinators M Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan are the advisers of the government.