Mohamed Yunus.
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Mohammad Yunus, said Sunday that his administration will demand that India send ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina back to her country. Sheikh Hasina had traveled to India after being ousted from power in Bangladesh due to mass protests in August.
In his address to the nation on the 100th day of his term in office, Yunus also said that his government continues its best efforts to ensure the safety of all citizens, including religious minorities.
India should return Sheikh Hasina
The government news agency BSS quoted Yunus as saying that we have to ensure justice in every murder case. We will also ask India to return ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina. His comments indicate a U-turn, because in an interview with a British newspaper last month, Yunus had said his government would not immediately demand Hasina’s return to India.
1500 people died
Yunus, who took office on August 8, claimed that around 1,500 people, including students and workers, were killed and 19,931 injured during protests against Hasina’s government. He said our government is carefully collecting information about each death. He said the government has arranged treatment for the injured in several special hospitals, including 13 hospitals in Dhaka.
Resignation after protests
Sheikh Hasina, 77, resigned and moved to India following mass protests by students and others against her government over the controversial quota system in government jobs. He landed at Hindon air base, near Delhi, on 5 August. He is believed to have later been moved to an undisclosed location and has not been seen in public since.
Order to repress the student movement
Sheikh Hasina and her party leaders are accused of ordering a brutal crackdown on the student anti-discrimination movement, which led to numerous casualties during protests in July and August. Yunus said his government is investigating all cases in which violence was committed against religious minorities.
The Hindu community should not be a victim of violence
In his address to the nation, he said, we have done everything possible to ensure that no citizen of the country, including members of the Hindu community, is a victim of violence. We will continue this effort. He said that when the interim government came to power, Bangladesh was a completely unsafe country.
attempt to spread fear
Yunus said there was an attempt to sow unnecessary fear among religious minorities. He said that in some cases they have also faced violence. But any publicity that has been made about this is completely exaggerated. The small incidents of violence that occurred were mainly political. He said efforts were made to destabilize the country again by giving a religious color to these incidents. He said the government addressed the situation firmly with the cooperation of all. Two months after his government came to power, Durga Puja was celebrated in around 32,000 puja pavilions across the country.
The number of Hindus is approximately eight percent.
Yunus said the government made extensive security arrangements during Durga Puja so that members of the Hindu community could celebrate the festival without any problems. The number of Hindus in Bangladesh’s 17-crore population is about eight percent. Yunus also said that the Electoral Commission (EC) will be constituted soon, while the electoral roadmap will be announced after the reforms in the electoral system.
