‘Keep Quiet Till You Are In India’: Bangladesh Interim Head Yusuf Tells Sheikh Hasina

Dhaka: It’s exactly one month since Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh Prime Minister in the wake of unprecedented violent protests and fled to India.

With no country of her choice willing to grant Hasina asylum, she has been forced to make Delhi her base.

On Thursday, head of Bangladesh’s interim government Muhammad Yunus issued a clear and important message for former Prime Minister Shekh Hasina.

Observing that the former PM making political remarks from Indian soil is an “unfriendly gesture”, Yunus asserted she must keep her mouth shut to prevent discomfort of both countries until Dhaka asks for her extradition.

“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 in an interview with PTI.

Bangladesh does value its strong ties with India, but Yunus stressed that New Delhi must move “beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina.”

Possibly referring to Hasina’s statement three weeks ago demanding “justice”, and saying that those involved in recent “terror acts”, killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified and punished, Yunus said no one is comfortable with her stance there in India.

“We want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she been quiet, we would have forgotten it; people would have also forgotten it as she would have been in her own world. But sitting in India, she is speaking and giving instructions. It is not good for us or for India. There is discomfort,” Yunus opined.

Asked whether Bangladesh’s stance has been communicated to India, Yunus said it has been conveyed verbally and quite firmly that she should keep quiet.

“Everyone understands it. 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 said.

Stating that the interim government is committed to ensuring justice for the people of Bangladesh against the atrocities committed, Yunus said that justice requires Hasina be brought back to the country.

“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,” Yunus emphasised.

Yunus expressed the desire for good ties with India, but insisted New Delhi must abandon the narrative that only Hasina’s leadership ensures the Bangladesh’s stability.

“The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative. The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) 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. India has to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is another neighbour,” he said.

Yunus further said that India raising concerns about alleged attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh is an excuse.

“The issue of trying to portray the conditions of minorities in such a big way is just an excuse,” Yunus claimed.