SM Mizanur Rahman :
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam on Sunday assured new Minister for LGRD and Co-operatives Khandker Mosharraf Hossain of all out cooperation.
He made the assurance when Khandker Mosharraf met him at his Minto Road official residence at 11:00am before joining office as LGRD and Co-operatives Minister. The meeting lasted for 15 minutes. On Thursday, Syed Ashraf lost his job as LGRD Minister and has been made Minister without portfolio. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain has been given additional charge of the Ministry.
“As we are the members of a same government and parliament we will have cooperation with each other all times. The new LGRD and Co-operatives Minister will be given all out cooperation,” Syed Ashraf told the journalists after the meeting. While talking to the journalists Khandker Mosharraf said, as Ahsraf is his party leader, he made the courtesy call to inform him (Ashraf) before taking over charge of the Ministry.
Later, Khandker Mosharraf went to Secretariat and took the charge as Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister.
After joining the LGRD Ministry, he said that he feels lucky, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has chosen him for doing the job
“I’m feeling lucky. Syed Ashraf is the leader of my political party and also its general secretary. I have made a courtesy call him in order to seek his permission before assuming the office,” he told journalists after taking the charge as LGRD and Cooperative Minister.
He said in line with fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision to achieve the status of developed country by 2041 he is promising that he would work hard,
Khandker Mosharraf said that the government’s vision to become a developed country by 2041 would not be possible without the development of the local government and the cooperatives sector. “We will be able to turn the country into a developed one by 2041 in line with the development of all the municipalities, city corporations, Zila Parishads, Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads,” he said, adding about 80-82 per cent people live in rural areas.
The new LGRD Minister said that he would attach importance on improving the existing road networks under the Local Government and the Engineering Division as well as making the services of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division more available to rural people.
