BNP Chairperson and Former Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia did not attended the oath-taking ceremony for the new cabinet.
The cabinet division had invited the BNP chairperson, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the previous (9th) parliament, on Saturday.
The new cabinet was sworn in at 3:30pm on Sunday at the Bangabhaban, the official residence of President Abdul Hamid. Cabinet Secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan conducted the ceremony.
Around 1,000 guests, including Khaleda Zia, were invited to the programme.
In the history of Bangladesh, none of the opposition leaders has attended the oath taking ceremony.
On Saturday, the BNP Chairperson’s Personal Secretary ASM Saleh Uddin confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune about receiving the invitation that had been issued from the cabinet division.
Khaleda Zia has served as the country’s prime minister three times and as opposition leader twice (1996, 2008).
She lost her post of the Leader of the Opposition in 10th parliament. On Saturday, the Parliament Secretariat published a gazette notification confirming Rawshan Ershad as the Leader of the Opposition in the 10th parliament.
The 10th general elections were held on January 5 amidst a boycott from the then main opposition BNP. The 283 MPs who were elected in the 10th elections took oath on Thursday morning.
Both the US and the EU have urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to negotiate for fresh polls.
