"Can't Just Walk Away": Bangladesh's Yunus' Sheikh Hasina Chat With PM Modi
New Delhi:
Bangladesh's interim leader, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, issued a rebuke of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's public statements from Indian soil, claiming that he personally urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and prevent her from addressing Bangladeshis online.
In remarks delivered during an interaction at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, Mr Yunus described a volatile political atmosphere in post-Hasina Bangladesh and expressed frustration over what he suggests to be Delhi's indifference to the destabilising impact of her continued communications.
"The whole anger and everything is now transferred to India, because she went there. Not only is she living there, but the problem is, when I had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I just simply said, 'You want to host her? I cannot 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'," Mr Yunus said.
According to Mr Yunus, Ms Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted by a student-led uprising in August 2024, continues to issue addresses to Bangladeshis through social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, often announcing these broadcasts in advance. These, Mr Yunus said, provoke public anger and risk inciting unrest in Bangladesh.
"She announces on such and such day at such and such hour, she will speak, and the whole of Bangladesh gets very angry, the way she is speaking. Why is she keeping this whole anger thing inside of us now? And is India doing what you asked? No. Mr Modi's answer, I quote, he said, 'It's the social media, we cannot control it'," Mr Yunus claimed.
"What can you say? It's an explosive situation. You can't just walk away by saying it's social media. So this is what is still going on," he added.
Diplomatic Strain
The interim leader also disclosed that an informal, unsigned diplomatic note had been submitted to Indian authorities requesting Ms Hasina's extradition. India has acknowledged receiving the document, but there has been no concrete movement so far.
"We want it to be very legal, very proper. We want to make sure that we don't do something out of anger or something. We want to build the best relationship with India. It's our neighbour. We don't want to have any kind of problem with them," Mr Yunus said.
"But somehow things go wrong every time because of all the fake news coming from the Indian press," the interim leader claimed. "And many people say it has connections with the policymakers at the top and so on. So this is what makes Bangladesh very jittery, very, very angry."
Mr Yunus added that Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has initiated legal proceedings against Ms Hasina for what the tribunal described as crimes against humanity committed during her final months in power. He confirmed that notices have been served to Ms Hasina as part of a larger process that could eventually involve Interpol.
Mr Yunus claimed the barrage of disinformation on social media continues to undermine efforts to stabilise the country and recover from last year's violent uprising that unseated Hasina.
Mr Yunus, now 84, reiterated that he has no interest in joining the next elected government, nor do any members of his current cabinet of advisers.
The interim government was formed in the wake of Ms Hasina's ousting on August 5 last year, following a mass uprising led by students. Hundreds were reported killed in a brutal crackdown ordered by Ms Hasina's administration, prompting a wave of defections, resignations, and arrests. Ms Hasina's Awami League was disbanded shortly afterwards.
Mr Yunus returned from Paris to Dhaka on August 8 to take charge as the head of the interim administration. Since then, several of the student leaders have formed the National Citizen Party (NCP) with the interim government's blessing.
The interim government has initiated trials against several former Awami League leaders, both inside and outside the country. These proceedings, largely framed under "crimes against humanity" and abuses during the July-August 2024 crackdown, are ongoing at the International Crimes Tribunal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
31 minutes ago
- News18
Special Flight With 290 Indian Students Evacuated From Iran Under Operation Sindhu Lands In Delhi
This specific flight, an Iranian airline charter coordinated by Indian authorities, arrived at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 11.30 pm on Friday In the thick of intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran, the Indian government has initiated Operation Sindhu, a crucial mission to evacuate its nationals from West Asia. A significant milestone in this operation was achieved late on Friday, June 20, when a special flight from Mashhad, Iran, carrying 290 Indian students, primarily from Jammu and Kashmir, safely landed at the Delhi airport. This specific flight, an Iranian airline charter coordinated by Indian authorities, arrived at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 11.30 pm IST. The successful arrival provided immense relief to the students and their worried families, who had been stranded amid the worsening security situation in Iran due to recent large-scale aerial bombings and retaliatory missile attacks between Iran and Israel. The overarching goal of Operation Sindhu is to repatriate approximately 1,000 Indian nationals from Iran, including many students pursuing professional courses and religious pilgrims. In a notable display of cooperation, Iran made an exception to its airspace closure—imposed due to the ongoing conflict—allowing India's evacuation flights. This facilitated the direct flight from Mashhad to Delhi. Earlier in the week, students were relocated from Tehran to safer cities like Qom and then to Mashhad to facilitate their departure. This flight was not the first under Operation Sindhu. On Thursday, June 19, an initial group of 110 Indian students, predominantly from Urmia University, had already arrived in Delhi. These students were evacuated via a land route to Armenia, then flown from Yerevan to New Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had been actively monitoring the situation, confirming that more students, primarily from his state, were being evacuated via land routes to Armenia before being airlifted. The ministry of external affairs has stressed that the Indian government prioritises the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad. They continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain constant communication with the Indian community in Iran. Additional flights are scheduled for Saturday, including one from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and another from Mashhad, to bring back more Indian nationals under Operation Sindhu. First Published: June 21, 2025, 02:19 IST
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
Iran opens air space to allow 3 flights bring stranded Indian nationals back home
New Delhi, June 20 (UNI) In a special gesture, Iran on Friday opened its airspace to allow India evacuate its citizens stranded there. Iran's Deputy Chief of Mission to India Mohammad Javad Hosseini told reporters here that three special flights from Mashad will bring back stranded Indian nationals to Delhi. The first flight will land tonight at 2315 Hrs. The second and third flights are scheduled for Saturday, one in the morning and another in the evening. A total of 1000 Indian nationals were relocated from Tehran to Mashad via Qom. From Mashad they will be flown to Delhi, Mr Hosseini said. Under Operation Sindhu launched by India to evacuate Indian nationals from war torn areas of Iran, 110 Indian students were brought back home on Wednesday. They were evacuated from northern Iran and transported to Yerevan, Armenia, by road. From Yerevan they boarded a special flight to New Delhi on June 19 early morning. More than 4,000 Indian nationals are living in Iran and most of them are students. UNI RB GNK
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Pressure of parents can deter schools to do exorbitant fee hike, says RSS education wing
'Parents must keep a check on the quality of education in the schools they choose for their children; their pressure can deter schools from doing an exorbitant fee hike,' said Ravindra Kanhere, national president of Vidya Bharati, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Mr. Kanhere's statement came at a time when reports of protests by parents of school students are making headlines from different states across India who complaint about exorbitant fees being charged by the private schools. In Delhi too, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under the leadership of chief minister Rekha Gupta, earlier this month had approved an ordinance based on the proposed Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. the ordinance came after a private school in the capital had strike off the \student names from its rolls for not paying the increased fees. The state government had also sent inspection teams to the school, after which DoE issued an order regarding reinstatement. Answering a question on inaction of state governments at in regulating the fees of private schools, Mr. Kanhere said that deciding fees of schools is prerogative of government. 'But because you have raised the point of fee hikes in private schools, I was to tell you that there is a system in states that 10% fee hike can be done through the committee which is headed by the district collector. If the fees have to be raised more than 10% than there is a state government committee at state level. This is a general practice in many states,' he said. He added that the parents should check the quality of education in schools in which their wards are studying. 'Pressure of parents can deter schools to do exorbitant fee hike,' he added Speaking on the controversy related to language in the New Education Policy (NEP), Mr. Kanhere said that all the states are free to choose any three of the 22 Indian languages prescribed under the policy. He dismissed the Tamil Nadu Government's charge of imposition of Hindi by the Centre and added that a child is free to study any southern language if he from South. 'If someone in the South is learning Tamil, he can also learn Malayalam or any other language… All Indian languages have been listed, and they have been asked to choose from them. Similarly, when it comes to the third language, it can be English, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin also,' he added. Commenting on the controversy of NCERT books removing the usage of Babri mosque in chapters related to Ayodhya's Ram temple, Mr. Kanhere said that 'misleading facts' must be erased from the textbooks. 'We should write historical facts only. But we have seen over the years that some or other misleading facts are being included in the books. If they are being removed, nothing wrong in doing so,' he added. Speaking about the expansion of Vidhya Bharti, he said that the organisation had opened its first school in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district in 1952 and is currently running 12,118 schools including 14 Sainik Schools in 684 districts across India. The organisation is also running over 8,000 non-formal educational centres across the country to support the marginalised sections of the society and about 10,000 'Shishu Vatikas' to provide early childhood education to children. 'Collectively, more than 35.33 lakh students are currently enrolled in Vidya Bharati schools under the able guidance of more than 1.53 lakh teachers,' he added.
