Bangladesh interim leader’s rhetoric threatens India ties – ex-PM Hasina
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the hostile rhetoric coming from the country’s current chief adviser, Mohammad Yunus, is threatening longstanding ties with India.
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh for India after the uprising in 2024, said in a written interview with RT on Wednesday that Yunus’ support of radicals was creating tensions with its western neighbor.
“India is a longstanding friend, and I am deeply grateful to the Indian people for welcoming me,” she said. “However, Yunus’ sponsorship of extremists, his failure to protect Hindus, and the idiotic hostile rhetoric towards India emanating from Dhaka threaten to undo the partnership that we worked hard to cultivate.”
She added that despite the unraveling of Bangladesh-India trade ties under the watch of Yunus, a Nobel Peace laureate, the bond between the countries was deep. Hasina said she was “grateful for India’s support and patience as they wait for Bangladesh to get its affairs in order.”
Hasina ruled out the notion that Washington had a role in the protests in Bangladesh that led to her government’s ouster last year.
“I do not believe the US government was involved. I have had good relationships with successive presidents and am a particular admirer of President Trump,” she added.
Hasina conceded that Yunus has many admirers in the West, but said he is not “a front-man” for the US government.
The former prime minister said the next elections in Bangladesh (expected in 2026) cannot be termed “free” given that her Awami League, which had been in power for 15 years before being ousted in last year’s uprising, has been barred from participating.
Hasina’s interview with RT comes amid a Bangladesh court hearing on a controversial “crimes against humanity” case filed against her. The country’s International Crimes Tribunal is slated to deliver a verdict in the case on November 17, according to the Daily Star.
When asked about the case, Hasina said “the verdict is a foregone conclusion.”
