Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina lashed out at her successor in no uncertain terms on Thursday — accusing Muhammad Yunus of fomenting unrest and sponsoring extremists. She claimed that his “hostile rhetoric towards India” had also affected ties between the two countries and destabilised the region. Hasina insisted that the international communitity had been “blinded” by the Nobel Laureate and claimed that his tenure was being “characterised by chaos, corruption and violence”.
“There is forensic evidence suggesting that foreign mercenaries were present and acted as provocateurs…I have no doubt that Yunus and his followers were involved in fomenting the uprising…My only regret is that the judicial inquiry committee we established to investigate the origins of the violence was dismantled by Yunus, who later granted indemnity to these hooligans and even glorified them as July warriors,” she told The Indian Express when asked about the 2024 protests.
The Awami League chief also said that her decision to leave Bangladesh was a “matter of necessity” — because remaining would have risked violence against Hasina and her supporters. She insisted that the country would “rise again” and stressed the need to hold ‘free, fair and participatory’ elections.
India-Bangladesh partnership derailed
Sheikh Hasina also accused Muhammad Yunus of overseeing a “concerning radicalisation” o Bangladesh over the past year. She claimed that the interim chief advisor had “placed extremists into cabinet positions, facilitated attacks on religious minorities, and released known criminals”.
“Both India and the United States have voiced justifiable concern at these developments. Yunus is not a politician. My fear is that extremists are using him to project an acceptable face internationally, to provide them with cover while they target minorities and radicalise our institutions domestically,” she said.
“His sponsorship of extremists, his failure to protect religious minorities, and his hostile rhetoric towards India are undermining our partnership with India and destabilising our region. I am dismayed by the erosion of the trade and transit links that we worked so hard to cultivate between our countries during my administration, to say nothing of the hostile rhetoric emanating from Dhaka against India. India, quite rightly, wants a reliable partner. That will come when Bangladesh has a legitimate government that has been elected by its people,” Hasina added.
Death penalty threat looms
Hasina and key members of her ousted government were tried for ‘crimes against humanity’ earlier this year — with the verdict slated for next week. ICT-BD Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam earlier demanded the death penalty for the accused.
