The protest followed Hasina’s email interview to news agency PTI, in which she accused Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, of being supported by “fundamentalist and extremist groups.” Hasina, who has been living in India since August last year after being ousted from power, said the Yunus administration was pursuing “anti-India policies” that were “foolish and self-damaging.”
She described Yunus as a “weak and anarchic leader” dependent on extremist forces and claimed that his government was attempting to undermine Bangladesh’s traditionally close ties with India. “India was, is, and will remain our biggest friend,” Hasina said, expressing confidence that people-to-people relations would withstand current political turbulence.
Responding to reports suggesting she called for a boycott of the next national elections, Hasina clarified that polls excluding her Awami League “cannot be considered valid,” adding that millions of Bangladeshis continued to support her party.
The former premier also denounced the ongoing proceedings against her in Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, calling it a “kangaroo tribunal” driven by political vengeance. She challenged the Yunus government to take the case to the International Criminal Court, saying an impartial trial would acquit her.
Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, amid violent student-led protests over the quota system in government jobs. The unrest led to the collapse of her two-decade-long rule and the installation of an interim administration under Yunus. Since then, she has resided in India, maintaining that she will return only when democracy is restored in Bangladesh.
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