Bangladesh’s interim government leader, Muhammad Yunus, has addressed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India, marking his first public comments since taking office. Yunus described Hasina’s political statements made from India as an “unfriendly gesture,” emphasizing that she should remain silent to prevent further discomfort between the two countries until Dhaka formally requests her return.
“If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” Yunus said during an interview at his residence in Dhaka.
Hasina’s departure from Bangladesh followed intense protests in Dhaka, leading to her resignation. Initially, her stay in India was thought to be brief, but changes in asylum requests from other countries, including the UK, extended her stay.
In Bangladesh, murder cases have been filed against Hasina and her former cabinet members. Yunus stressed that while Bangladesh values its relationship with India, it is important for New Delhi to move beyond the narrative that labels every political party except the Awami League as Islamist. “No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic,” Yunus said.
He referred to Hasina’s statement on August 13, in which she called for “justice,” demanding investigations into recent “terror acts,” killings, and vandalism. “It is not good for us or for India. There is discomfort regarding it,” Yunus added.
Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India on August 5. Yunus noted that Bangladesh has communicated its stance to India, emphasizing that Hasina should remain silent. “We have said quite firmly that she should keep quiet. This is an unfriendly gesture towards us; she has been given shelter there and she is campaigning from there. It is not that she has gone there on a normal course. She has fled following a people’s uprising and public anger,” Yunus stated.
The interim government is committed to ensuring justice for the people of Bangladesh, according to Yunus. “Yes, she has to be brought back or else the people of Bangladesh won’t be at peace. The kind of atrocities she has committed, she has to be tried in front of everyone here,” he emphasized.
Yunus’s remarks come shortly after BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir suggested that a new chapter in Indo-Bangla relations should begin with Hasina’s extradition. Alamgir argued that her continued presence in India could damage bilateral relations further. “Sheikh Hasina has to face the law of Bangladesh for all the crimes and corruption committed by her and her regime. To enable this and respect the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh, India should ensure her return to Bangladesh,” Alamgir said.
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