PM refuses to name training centre after his mother Khaleda Zia

The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment had sent a proposal to the Prime Minister's Office to change the name of the Keraniganj Technical Training Center after the name of former prime minister Khaleda Zia. However, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, also the son of the former PM, rejected the proposal.

The source said that instead of approving the proposal to name it after his mother, the Prime Minister instead instructed to establish a new institution and name it if necessary.

Established in 2006 in Hazratpur of Keraniganj, this technical educational institution run under the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

A source in the Prime Minister's Office said that before Eid-ul-Azha, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare sent a proposal to change the name of the center after Khaleda Zia. The source claimed that the Prime Minister did not approve the proposal.

People concerned say that this is an exemplary decision against the prevailing trend of changing the name of institutions in the country's power-centric politics.

A responsible official in the Prime Minister's Office said that the Prime Minister has written in the proposal note that if a new name is to be given, a new institution will have to be established for it.

Earlier, Tarique Rahman did not approve the proposal of five officials, including Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain, to visit the United States to see innovative mosquito control activities. Last Monday, the Prime Minister's Press Wing said that there is no need to go to Florida, the United States, to learn mosquito control; the Prime Minister had commented that it is possible to find out innovative methods by staying near a pond in the country for a while after evening.