Yunus steps down as Tarique set to take oath as Bangladesh PM on Feb 17

Bangladesh’s outgoing Chief Adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, on Monday bid farewell to officials and employees at his office, a day ahead of the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet.

Following the speech, Yunus participated in a photo session with all those serving at his office, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha quoted his spokesperson as saying. Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman also paid a farewell visit to Yunus on Monday, bdnews24.com reported. Yunus thanked the army chief for the cooperation of the armed forces during the general election.

The tenure of Yunus is going to end on Tuesday, following the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The BNP, led by its chairman Tarique Rahman, bagged a whopping 209 out of 297 seats in the crucial 13th parliamentary elections held on February 12.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin is likely to administer the oath of office to the newly elected parliament members at 10 am, while President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet of BNP chairman Tarique Rahman at 4 pm. Rahman is set to become the Prime Minister to replace the interim government headed by Yunus, under whose tenure Dhaka’s relations with New Delhi witnessed a significant downturn.

India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.

The community has faced a series of attacks, some fatal, after the killing of radical youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi in December.