
Asked Modi to stop Hasina from speaking, he said not possible due to social media: Yunus
LONDON: Chief adviser to the interim Bangladesh govt,
Mohammad Yunus
, told delegates at Chatham House Wednesday he had asked Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
to stop ousted Bangladesh PM
Sheikh Hasina
from 'speaking' after she fled to India but Modi replied that it was not possible because of social media.
'I said to PM Modi: 'You want to host her? I can't force you to abandon that policy, but please help us in making sure she doesn't speak to Bangladeshi people the way she is doing as the whole of Bangladesh gets very angry.' India is not doing what I asked. Modi's answer was: 'It is social media, we can't control it.' What can you say? It's an explosive situation. You can't just walk away by saying it's social media,' Yunus said.
'We want to build the best relationship with India – but somehow things go wrong all the time because of all fake news coming from the Indian press,' he said. 'Some people say it has connections with policy makers at the top. This is what makes Bangladesh very jittery. A whole barrage of things keep happening in cyber space.'
Yunus said Awami League didn't need to be part of the 2026 elections as 'it isn't a political party'.
He pledged to hold 'the most beautiful election ever'.
'If they can kill young people on the street, make people disappear, steal money, would you call them a political party? None of them has ever expressed remorse. For the safety of politics of this country, the nation has decided that, for time being, the activities of Awami League will be suspended until the trial is over,' he said, referring to the trial of perpetrators of violence under the Hasina regime.
'We have not banned Awami League.
'
Protests marked Yunus' visit to Chatham House. 'How can he ban the Awami League? He is not even elected. He has no authority,' said one of the Bangladeshi diaspora protesters outside, chanting, 'Yunus terrorist'. One held a placard calling for the release of former Iskcon monk Chinmoy Prabhu.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
39 minutes ago
- Indian Express
No word since last call 2 days, Chhattisgarh parents worry about daughter, her family in Iran
Chhattisgarh prisons department employee Kasim Raza (60) last spoke to his daughter, who lives with her husband and children in Iran, on Wednesday. She told him she was scared and wanted to come back to India amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Since that call, there has been no communication from her. Raza's 29-year-old daughter, Eman, lives in the Iranian city of Qom. Her husband, Madhya Pradesh native Ejaz Zaidi (34), is pursuing maulviyat (traditional Islamic education) in Iran. They have two sons aged five and three. Qom is the city where several Indian students from the Iranian capital of Tehran, which has faced multiple strikes from Israel, have been moved to. While this gave the Raza family some hope that the city is relatively calm, the fact that there has been no communication from their daughter since Wednesday has left them worried. 'The last phone call we got from Eman was on Wednesday, when she said she was scared, that she wanted to come back to India, and that things were not going well in Iran. She and her mother were crying on the phone. I will soon submit a letter to the Indian government through the state government requesting them to make arrangements to get my daughter and her family back home,' Raza told The Indian Express from their home in Raipur. Raza last saw his daughter in 2023, when she had come to India for 45 days and stayed with her parents for a couple of weeks. Raza's wife, Shaheen, said, 'Our son-in-law was to come to India on June 13 for Muharram, but his flight got cancelled due to the ongoing conflict. We saw news that internet has been suspended (in Iran) for safety. We are unable to contact them, so we believe the internet is not working there. This is the first time we are facing such an issue. I got very scared when my grandson told me, yaha pe war chal rahi hai (a war is going on here). They do not understand what a war is!'


Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
SC lawyers' body asks ED to respect independence of Bar, exercise restraint
Representative Image Sections 132 and 134 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, protect lawyer-client communications from disclosure. The Enforcement Directorate message to Venugopal read, "Please refer to the trail mail in this regard. The summons for June 24 issued to you hereby stands withdrawn with immediate effect." By afternoon, the SC Bar Association's executive body, led by senior advocate Vikas Singh, condemned the ED summons to Datar and Venugopal. "Issuance of such illegal notices and summons to senior advocates and to the advocate-on-record reflect a disturbing trend, striking at the very foundations of the legal profession and undermining the independence of the bar, which is a core pillar of Indian democracy," it said, calling upon ED to respect independence of bar and exercise restraint. SCAORA requested the CJI to "examine the legality and propriety of such summons issued to legal professionals for opinions rendered in good faith; safeguard the constitutional and professional protections accorded to advocates; and lay down guidelines to prevent further erosion of professional protection to lawyer-client communications and uphold independence of bar". SCAORA said the unwarranted steps taken by ED against senior advocates for discharge of their professional duty set a "dangerous precedent" that could have a chilling effect on the entire legal fraternity and dissuade them from giving honest and independent legal opinions to clients. Bar Association of India, too, criticised ED and said, "Issuance of summons is also an egregious example of overreach by the agency and is an attempt to undermine attorney-client privilege protected under the provisions of BSA."


India.com
40 minutes ago
- India.com
Operation Sindhu: Evacuees Chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai! as 290 Indians Return From Iran
Chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Hindustan Zindabad' echoed through Delhi Airport late Friday night as a special flight carrying 290 Indian nationals evacuated from Iran under Operation Sindhu touched down. Emotional returnees, including students and religious pilgrims, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Indian government for ensuring their safe return amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Among those evacuated was Tazkiya Fatima, a resident of Noida, who recounted the tense situation in Iran and praised the coordination between Indian authorities. "There is a situation of war over there. We were not sure how we would make it out of there, but the Government of India made the whole process very smooth. I am very thankful to the Indian government. I am a resident of Noida," she said. Eliya Batool, another evacuee, described the emotional relief of returning home. She said, "... I am unable to express what I am feeling right now. My family was very worried. In Iran, we were at ease, we were provided with a 5-star hotel and safety was provided to us. But after coming here, we feel at ease. Thank you so much, Indian government. We did not face any issue there because our Embassy made everything easy for us..." Maulana Mohammad Saeed Saeed also praised the swift and safe evacuation. He said, "We are happy and grateful that we have been able to return home safe and sound. The situation in Iran is no good and we all know. Indian Embassy and our Ambassador made the evacuation process very smooth and safe..." Sehrish Rafique, an MBBS student at Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, highlighted how the situation escalated rapidly. "The situation in Iran was quite devastating. At first we didn't expect that it would escalate so much. At first I couldn't believe the Indian Embassy would make so much efforts for us. All Kashmiris are really thankful to the Indian government..." she said. Mir Mohammad Musharraf, from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, also praised the efforts of the Indian government, saying, "I am from Pulwama, Kashmir... Operation Sindhu is amazing and really helpful. The services were very good. We contacted our embassy. We were stuck in Tehran, unaware of what to do. Our landlords also left and were left behind. It was only our embassy that helped us reach here. Thank you so much, Indian government." Speaking to the media in Delhi, Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, said, "... The third flight carrying 290 Indian nationals from Iran, as part of Operation Sindhu, has landed. 190 out of them are from J&K, others are from Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, West Bengal, and other states. It is a matter of happiness for us that the Government of Iran has opened its airspace for us, and it shows the relationship between India and Iran... These people are very happy on reaching home, and they have thanked the Indian government... Operation Sindhu flights will soon commence from Israel as well..." Many evacuees also expressed their appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the MEA. Mehboob Ali Musharraf from Bijnor said, "I thank Modi Ji and the Indian government for making such good arrangements for our return. We are very happy. I am from Bijnor... Every moment felt very long. I am very grateful that we were evacuated at the earliest..." Syed Mansur Hussain, another evacuee, added, "Everyone expressed their gratitude and bowed their heads as soon as they landed in India. We thank PM Modi and the Indian government... I love India." The special flight landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport late Friday night, as part of Operation Sindhu, India's ongoing mission to evacuate citizens amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. The flight arrived at 11:30 PM IST on Friday and was received by Secretary (CPV & OIA) Arun Kumar Chatterjee. Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in a post on X, "Operation Sindhu flight brings citizens home. Evacuated 290 Indian nationals from Iran, including students and religious pilgrims, by a charter flight. The flight arrived in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 20 June and was received by Secretary (CPV & OIA) Arun Chatterjee." He added, "The Government of India is grateful to the Government of Iran for the facilitation of the evacuation process." Earlier on Thursday, a flight carrying 110 Indian students evacuated from northern Iran arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The Central government has launched Operation Sindhu to bring back Indian citizens stuck in Iran and Israel amid escalating conflict between them. Conflict between Israel and Iran has entered its 9 day. The conflict erupted after Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' on June 13, targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities. In retaliation, Iran also launched several drone and missile attacks.