As the turmoil over the appointment of new Deputy Commissioners (DCs) persists, dissatisfaction has escalated into chaos, prompting frequent administrative adjustments.
The latest decision is to bar the newly appointed DCs from assuming their new roles.
In separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Public Administration on Monday and Tuesday, officials appointed as DCs were instructed not to join their new posts. They have been directed to continue working at their previous positions until further notice.
The Cabinet Division on Wednesday communicated this directive via WhatsApp messages to the newly appointed DCs, multiple sources have confirmed.
A Joint Secretary of the Cabinet Division, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that officials were instructed to confirm receipt of the message immediately.
Sources indicate that a meeting was scheduled to be held on Wednesday morning with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus to brief the newly appointed officials.
However, due to the commotion among officials at the Secretariat, the meeting could not take place.
As a result, the officials have been instructed to remain at their current posts until further decisions are made.
It should be noted that on Monday, the government appointed new DCs for 25 districts. On Tuesday, two separate notifications announced the appointment of an additional 35 DCs. The appointment for Sylhet district, made on Monday, was cancelled the following day, and a new appointment was issued. In total, 59 districts saw new DC appointments.
Following this decision, some officials at the Secretariat protested on Tuesday, claiming they were unfairly bypassed in the appointments and demanded the cancellation of the DC appointment notifications.
They staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Public Administration for several hours.
Some sources suggest that officials affiliated with BNP and Jamaat were involved in the protests.
The protesting officials alleged that most of the newly appointed DCs were from the “fit list” of the previous Hasina government and had benefited from the previous administration. They claimed these appointments were made through financial transactions.
After discussions with Cabinet Division Secretary Mahabub Hossain, the protesters were promised that the notifications would be reviewed, leading them to disperse.
However, protests resumed again Wednesday morning.
Appointments of 8 DCs cancelled
In response to the turmoil, the government has cancelled the appointments of eight officials and made changes to the DC positions in four additional districts.
Ministry of Public Administration Senior Secretary Dr Md Mokhlesur Rahman shared the information with journalists on Wednesday.
The districts where the DC appointments were cancelled are Lakshmipur, Joypurhat, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Sirajganj, Shariatpur, Dinajpur and Rajbari.
Additionally, changes were made in the DC positions of four more districts: the DC of Tangail was transferred to Panchagarh, the DC of Nilphamari to Tangail, the DC of Natore to Lakshmipur and the DC of Panchagarh to Nilphamari.
The senior secretary said after a selection committee meeting, the appointments of the eight individuals were cancelled.