Advisers to the 1996 and 2001 caretaker governments observed that the proposal made by opposition leader and BNP chief Khaleda Zia was unlikely to be accepted by the ruling Awami League.
On Monday, she proposed forming a 10-member caretaker government to oversee the upcoming national elections. The interim government would be comprised of five members selected by the AL and five by the BNP from 1996 and 2001 caretaker government advisers, as those two caretaker governments were widely considered neutral.
Adviser to the 2001 caretaker government ASM Shahjahan, also former inspector general of police, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Awami League will never accept the proposal.
“The whole country is concerned about the present political situation. They [AL and BNP] should reach some sort of consensus. Although, I must say, as far I can predict, such consensus is unlikely,” he added.
Asked if he was considering taking the duty of caretaker adviser again, he said it would be hard to comment in advance. “I must arrive at a bridge before I can cross it. I do not see any bridge.”
In reply to the same question, former adviser M Hafiz Uddin, said: “Am I mad?”
Hafiz Uddin, a trustee of Transparency International, Bangladesh, also observed that the ruling party would “never accept the proposal.”
Economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, an adviser to the caretaker government in 1996, answered in a satirical way to the same question: “I was an adviser a long time ago. If I have to be something now, I would be a prime minister.
“I am not interested to make any comment,” Wahiduddin said when asked what he was thinking about the recent proposal.