The newly elected members of Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have taken oath following the 13th parliamentary election. This paved the way for the formation of a 50-member cabinet under Tarique Rahman. Among those inducted as full ministers are Hindu leader Nitai Roy Chowdhury and Buddhist Dipen Dewan. The new cabinet took oath on 17 February at the South Plaza of the Parliament complex.
Cabinet formation under Tarique Rahman
According to media reports, 25 leaders will serve as full ministers, while 24 will take charge as state ministers. The inclusion of Chowdhury and Dewan in the list of full ministers is being viewed as notable, given their Hindu and Buddhist identities in a Muslim-majority country.
Not to forget, minorities, especially Hindus, have faced atrocities following the exit of Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister in August 2024. Since then, thousands of cases have emerged in Bangladesh where Hindus and their establishments, including houses and shops, were attacked.
Before the general elections, several Hindus were brutally murdered, and those cases were extensively covered by OpIndia. While the BNP has included a Hindu and a Buddhist in the cabinet, only time will tell if it will have any effect on atrocities against minorities, especially Hindus in Bangladesh.
List of full ministers
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Major retd Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, AZM Zahid Hossain, Khalilur Rahman, Abdul Awal Mintoo, Kazi Shah Mofazzal Houssain Kaikobad, Mizanur Rahman Minu, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Ariful Haque Choudhury, Zahir Uddin Swapon, Mohammad Amin ur Rashid, Afroza Khanam Rita, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, Asadul Habib Dulu, Md Asaduzzaman, Zakaria Taher, Dipen Dewan, ANM Ehshanul Hoque Milon, Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bakul, Fakir Mahbub Anam Swapan, and Sheikh Rabiul Alam.
List of state ministers
M Rashiduzzaman Millat, Anindya Islam Amit, Md Shariful Alam, Shama Obaed Islam, Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Kaiser Kamal, Farhad Hossain Azad, Aminul Haque, Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, Habibur Rashid, Md Rajib Ahsan, Md Abdul Bari, Mir Shahe Alam, Junaid Saki, Ishraq Hossain, Farzana Sharmin, Sheikh Faridul Islam, Nurul Haque, Yaser Khan Chowdhury, AK Iqbal Hossain, MA Muhit, Ahmed Sohel Manzur, Bobby Hajjaj, and Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam.
