The first twist surfaced soon after former chief justice KM Hasan expressed Friday night his unwillingness to the cabinet secretary to head the caretaker government. The Bangabhaban told the press that the oath taking of Justice Hasan scheduled for Saturday had to be deferred as he was "indisposed".

However, Justice Hasan's statement given to the press after his refusal nowhere mentioned that he was ill. Those who saw him on Saturday also said he did not look ill.

Then the Bangabhaban changed its position Saturday afternoon and announced that KM Hasan has refused to take oath.

As per constitutional provisions on caretaker government, the next person who could take oath was former chief justice Mahmudul Amin Chowdhury.

But the BNP raised an objection saying Mahmudul Amin does not qualify to head the caretaker chief as per the constitution because the immediate former chief justice before Hasan, Mainur Reza Chowdhury, died and the constitution has no provision for any third former chief justice. The Awami League (AL), on the other hand, expressed its willingness to accept Amin's candidature.

As per the rule, if Justice Mahmudul Amin is qualified, he should have been formally offered the post of caretaker chief by the Cabinet Division. But he was never offered the post. Instead, a Bangabhaban official called up Justice Amin over telephone around 8:00pm on Saturday and asked him if he would feel "embarrassed" in case an offer is made.

Justice Amin told The Daily Star that he told the Bangabhaban military secretary that he will not feel embarrassed and was rather prepared for the responsibility. The Bangabhaban has not since called back as of filing of this report last night. Mahmudul Amin said he was not offered the responsibility.

If no former chief justices are available for the position, the third option of the constitution provides for the immediate past retired justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Under this option, the first person to approach was Justice MA Aziz, who already holds the constitutional post of chief election commissioner and thus, according to the constitution, becomes unfit for the post.

The fourth option was retired justice of Appellate Division Hamidul Haque, who is now serving as the director general of the Judicial Administration Training Institute. The BNP had reservations about him and he was also not offered the post.

Repeating the procedure followed in case of Justice Amin, the Bangabhaban military secretary called Justice Haque around 8:30pm on Saturday seeking his opinion on what he thought about becoming the caretaker chief. He told the Bangabhaban official that he would head the caretaker government if both the main parties agree.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Haque said, "The military secretary then asked me if I could give my opinion in writing. I agreed. He said he is sending a messenger and I may give him my written opinion."

Haque handed over his written opinion to the messenger around 9:00pm on Saturday. He wrote: "In the light of the present situation, especially as different explanations of the constitution's Article 58(c) have surfaced, if both the parties do not agree about me, I do not think it would be wise of me to take the chief adviser's responsibility."

Although the language of Justice Haque's opinion was clear, BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday morning told the press that Haque has expressed his "embarrassment" to become the caretaker government chief.

"I never expressed embarrassment," Haque told The Daily Star, adding, "I did not even write any word like 'inability' or 'disagreement' in my letter...The military secretary's call was not an offer. I was never offered the responsibility."

So, the Bangabhaban practically skipped these steps of the constitution before coming to the conclusion that the president must himself head the caretaker government, which is not even the fifth option but the sixth and the last.

During a meeting with the AL and BNP top leaders Saturday afternoon, President Iajuddin Ahmed offered that he himself will head the caretaker government. The AL rejected the idea at that time.

However, the president resorted to the fifth option yesterday by holding a meeting with the four main political parties--BNP, Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the AL. At the meeting, the AL said all steps must be taken according to the constitutional provisions while the three other parties talked about other issues of the caretaker government. The president himself could have suggested any eminent citizen's name and sought the views of political parties, which he did not.

Finally, the president himself became the chief adviser to the caretaker government last night.