Hasina must stay silent in India: Dr Yunus
Staff Reporter :
Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, said the ousted prime minister Hasina must stay silent in India.
“Sheikh Hasina is making political remarks from India. Hasina’s statements were an unfriendly gesture and that she must remain silent until Dhaka requests her extradition,” Dr. Muhammad Yunus said in an interview with India’s news agency PTI, reported Times of India on Thursday.
“If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” the Chief Adviser said.
The Nobel laureate also stressed Bangladesh’s desire to keep strong ties with its neighbour and advised India to refrain from framing everybody except Hasina as extremist.
“The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will make this country into Afghanistan.
And Bangladesh is in safe hands with Sheikh Hasina at the helm only. India is captivated by this narrative,” Dr. Yunus said in the interview.
“India has to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is another neighbour,” he said.
Dr.Yunus also spoke about future ties with India. He said there were demands for a relook at certain treaties such as transit and the Adani electricity deal.
“Everybody here is saying that it is needed. We will see what is on paper and, second, what is actually happening on the ground. If there is any need to review, we will then raise questions about it,” the Chief Adviser said.
Professor Yunus refuted alleged violence against minorities in Bangladesh and claimed that India’s concerns were ‘exaggerated’.
“The issue of trying to portray the conditions of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse,” he said.
The report said that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, expressed hope that the situation in violence-hit Bangladesh would return to normal soon and said that 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the neighbouring country.
On August 5, Bangladesh plunged into a political crisis after PM Sheikh Hasina suddenly fled to India after weeks of nationwide protests turned violent.
Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammad Yunus gave a statement on Thursday marking one month of Hasina’s ousting from Bangladesh.
The Chief Adviser said all of the people will build a new and glorious Bangladesh.
“Today, we are celebrating the first month of Bangladesh’s second independence. Hundreds of students and people of all walks of life made the supreme sacrifice for one of the most glorious revolutions in history,” the statement read.
“They ended the 15-year dictatorship of the fascist Hasina, who led a brutal genocide. Hasina fled the country, leaving behind a state engulfed in corruption and a fragile economy. It is our responsibility to establish our Bangladesh in its full glory,” he said.