Kolkata: The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Muhammad Yunus, the interim Chief Adviser of the country who is facing increased criticism for certain controversial steps. She dismissed his pledge to hold elections by April 2026. She told her supporters through a video message that Yunus is “selling the country and making money out of it”, a sentiment that Hasina had expressed previously as well.
After the violent protest in Bangladesh that toppled Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League-led government, Yunus was made the interim head of the country. However, since then, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize has been accused of embroiling Bangladesh in chaos and anarchy, with attacks on Hindu minorities becoming rampant.
Muhammad Yunus and the Election Controversy
Several political parties in Bangladesh have slammed Yunus for not conducting the elections by 2025. The 84-year-old Bangladeshi economist has said that he needs to usher in reform before conducting polls, something his critics have dismissed as a tactic to delay elections to stay in power.
Hasina, while addressing her Awami League supporters, said that Yunus is planning to fool the country on April Fool’s Day. She said it days after Yunus announced that he plans to hold polls by April 2026. In her audio message, Hasina said, “I did not sell the country. Yunus is selling the country and making money. This government is backed by Jamaat. They don’t have the guts to fight me.”
In her 1-hour-long audio message, Hasina repeatedly described Yunus as “radical and extremists” and said, “They have said the election will take place in April. This is nothing but the plot of making an April Fool’s joke.” She also criticised the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former PM Khaleda Zia, accusing them of looting the country.
Hasina assures her supporters of a comeback
In the audio message, Hasina talked about the atrocities of the Yunus regime against common people and said, “Yunus is committing murders and members of the Awami League are getting prosecuted.” She added, “BNP is busy looting the people and Jamaat is busy killing and getting its people inside the government.”
Hasina assured her supporters that she will return to the country and shared her vision of a “Smart Bangladesh by 2041”. She said, “I will come back, the country will stand again, and we will free our nation from these radicals for the good of the people.” She also criticized the Yunus government for banning the Awami League and said, “If they want to hold polls, allow us to contest. Let’s see who the people of Bangladesh want. But they won’t do that because they don’t have the guts to fight against us.”
Yunus claims PM Modi ignored his request
Earlier, Yunus claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ignored his request to stop Hasina from making political statements while living in India. He was speaking at the Chatham House in London when Yunus made the remark and also reiterated his stance to try to extradite Hasina from India so that she can face looming charges against her in Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal.
Yunus said, “When I had a chance to speak with Prime Minister Modi, I simply said, ‘You want to host her, I cannot force you to abandon that policy. But please help us ensure that she does not address the Bangladeshi people the way she currently is.” He claimed that he made the request when he met PM Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in April 2025. He said, “Modi’s answer, and I quote, was: ‘It is social media; we cannot control it.’ What can you say? This is an explosive situation, and you can’t simply walk away by saying it’s social media. Yet this continues.”
