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Sheikh Hasina has been trying to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July. (AFP)
On Thursday, 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned home to be sworn in as head of the interim government
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main rival to the Awami League led by ousted Sheikh Hasina, said on Friday her decision to stay in India was entirely hers and that of the Indian authorities, but warned the people of Bangladesh “will not Will look at it in a good light.
Hasina resigned on Monday and fled to India following political turmoil in Bangladesh. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, returned to the country on Thursday and was sworn in as head of the interim government. His government is expected to call fresh elections once it gets the law and order situation under control, after deadly anti-government demonstrations against Hasina's government led to mass violence that has now abated.
Senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and party spokesperson Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told Press Trust of India (PTI): “Currently, she (ha) Sheena) is the most wanted criminal in Bangladesh, facing judicial sanctions for numerous crimes including murder, enforced disappearance and large-scale corruption. However, Choudhary said whether she should stay in the neighboring country is a matter for “Hasina herself and others.” A matter for the Government of India to decide,” adding that BNP Paribas does not have any say in the issue.
“However, the people of Bangladesh believe that the Indian authorities should take their feelings into consideration because the relationship between two neighboring countries ultimately depends on the relationship between the two peoples, not the relationship between a country and an individual or a region,” France said Chowdhury, a member of the Nationalist Party. “The people (of Bangladesh) will not be happy with Hasina staying in India,” Chaudhry said.
Hasina, 76, resigned and fled the country after her government sparked widespread protests over its controversial employment quota system. On Monday, she flew on a Bangladeshi military aircraft to Hinton Air Force Base near Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended his best wishes to Yunus as he was sworn in as head of Bangladesh's interim government, hoping that Bangladesh will soon return to normalcy and ensure the safety of Hindus and other minority communities in the neighboring country.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday that it was up to former Prime Minister Hasina to decide on her future travel plans. “As far as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is concerned, we have no update on her plans. She should move things forward,” he added. Hasina's initial plan was to seek asylum in London. Chaudhry said that as a former commerce minister, he worked hard to develop relations with India.
“You can get rid of your wife, but not your neighbor,” he said, but meaningful sustainable relationships can only develop when both parties respect each other's dignity and recognize mutual benefit. His party, the BNP, led by Hasina's main rival Khaleda Zia, is boycotting the January 2024 elections over concerns about electoral fraud and has called for a caretaker government to conduct a poll. investigation.
Chaudhry said Hasina herself had won her political destiny but she regretted the vandalism and destruction of state property that had occurred during the past weeks of unrest, which continued even after she stepped down. “In this case, some opportunists will take advantage of the situation.”
Asked about the removal of the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh and Hasina's father, and the vandalism of the Bangabandhu Museum, Chaudhry said, “No one is in favor, but a certain The excesses of Hasina's regime led to overreaction. “She herself is responsible for the slander of her father… You can't force anyone to respect you, you need to earn it,” he said.
“The people across the country are now eagerly waiting” for the newly formed interim government to take action to arrange elections and restore democracy in the shortest time possible after “the overthrow of the dictatorship,” he said.
Asked about concerns among some analysts that immediate elections could elect the BNP with a huge majority due to anti-incumbency opposition and could give rise to “another dictatorship”, he said, “If that happens , future governments will face the same situation” (Hasina’s) fate. “But even a political government has a term and an interim government must have a time frame… Our 31-point political framework to 'repair the country' will not allow any dictatorship to re-emerge,” Chaudhry said.
(This report has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from United News Agency-PTI)
