Staff Reporter :
Former and current officials of the administrative cadre have issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the resignation of Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, head of the Public Administration Reform Commission.
“We demand his resignation within 48 hours. Failing this, the administrative cadre will take necessary action to ensure his removal,” declared ABM Abdus Sattar, President of the BCS (Administration) Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, during a gathering at the BIAM Foundation Auditorium in the capital.
Sattar also emphasised the urgent need to implement the Bangladesh Administrative Service structure.
The protest was in response to the commission’s recommendation that 50 per cent of deputy secretaries be appointed from the administration cadre, with the remaining 50 per cent selected from other cadres.
The gathering, jointly organised by the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association and the BCS (Administration) Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, drew several hundred current and former administrative cadre officers. In solidarity, officials from 25 Civil Service cadres observed a one-hour pen-down strike nationwide to protest against the recommendations of the Public Administration Reform Commission.
Zakir Hossain, an officer from the 1986 batch, criticised the leadership of the reform commission during the meeting. “You did not earn your promotion through examinations. Given your actions, you should resign immediately,” he said, calling for a restructured commission to be led by senior administrative cadre officials after Muyeed’s departure.
The recommendations, proposed by Muyeed Chowdhury on 17 December, included an examination process for promotions to the positions of deputy secretary and joint secretary. This suggestion has drawn widespread criticism from administrative cadre officials.
Hossain further urged unity to overcome what he described as barriers to creating a discrimination-free Bangladesh. He also called for the removal of non-administrative cadre officers who were promoted to the deputy secretary pool under a 25 per cent quota.
Speakers at the event reiterated their demand for a reformed administrative structure and insisted that 100 per cent of promotions to deputy secretary positions should be reserved for administrative cadre officials.
ASM Saleh, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Land, dismissed the reform commission’s report as “useless” and predicted it would “end up in the trash.” He called for unity among administrative cadre members to resist the proposed reforms.
The event, chaired by ABM Abdus Sattar and conducted by Mahbub Hossain, a member of the Planning Commission, concluded with announcements of future actions to sustain the protests.
