Muhammad Yunus has sworn in as the pinnacle of Bangladeshs interim authorities on Thursday.
New Delhi:
Sajeeb Wazed Pleasure, son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has claimed that the current protests in Bangladesh had been seemingly instigated by a overseas intelligence company, particularly suspecting the involvement of the ISI.
Chatting with ANI, he mentioned that the unrest was pushed by exterior forces somewhat than home points and criticized how his mom’s assertion was distorted to gasoline the protests.
“I now firmly consider this was instigated by a small group and almost certainly by a overseas intelligence company. I strongly suspect the ISI.
There was no purpose for the protests to proceed as a result of the quotas weren’t mandated by our authorities and had been restored by a courtroom ruling. Our authorities had lifted the quotas in 2018 or so when the primary quota protests occurred,” he mentioned.
He alleged that the protesters twisted Sheikh Hasina’s assertion on Razakars, which led to the escalation of the protests.
“When the protests began, they had been peaceable. Our police supplied safety for the protesters. Then they took my mom’s assertion the place she mentioned that we do not need Razakars’ households getting jobs.
They took that assertion and twisted it, saying that my mom mentioned the protesters had been Razakars. My mom by no means mentioned that. However this was unfold on-line. After which, in the course of the night time, some group–nobody is aware of who did that–marched by Dhaka College chanting, ‘We’re Razakars’. And that’s what occurred. The opposite college students, particularly Bangladesh Chhatra League, our pupil supporters, and the pro-liberation college students, acquired indignant.
They attacked the protesters, and that’s how the violence began,” he mentioned whereas including, “The police tried to cease the violence, and in doing so, some police members used reside ammunition, which they weren’t approved to do. Our authorities by no means ordered anybody to assault.
Our authorities by no means ordered the police to make use of reside ammunition. We instantly referred to as our pupil leaders and mentioned, ‘Cease the preventing.’ The preventing stopped. We instantly suspended the cops who used extreme drive.”
He additionally questioned the presence of weapons among the many protestors and emphasised that his mom, Sheikh Hasina, selected to depart her residence to stop a possible bloodbath, prioritizing the lives of scholars.
“They elevated the demand for the resignation of the federal government. And as soon as they did that, they began attacking the police with firearms. The place did these weapons come into Bangladesh from? How did the scholars get weapons? So these weren’t college students. This was a mob. This was militancy that was instigated to attempt to overthrow a democratically elected authorities,” he mentioned.
“My mom left (even when) her safety forces had been closely armed and ready to protect the prime minister’s residence. But when the protesters had marched in a whole bunch, they might have been killed. It will have been a bloodbath. And my mom didn’t desire a bloodbath. That’s the reason she left,” he defined.
He added, “She left to guard the lives of the scholars.”
Wazed mentioned that the present interim authorities in Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was ‘unconstitutional’.
“We wish a fast restoration of democracy. Proper now, this authorities is totally unconstitutional. There is no such thing as a provision for a specific authorities slected by a small minority, as a result of we have now 170 million individuals in Bangladesh, and 20,000-50,000 protesters are a tiny fraction of the minority. Nobody has voted for this authorities. So whether or not they can restore legislation and order stays to be seen.
They’ve solely been in energy for lower than 24 hours,” he mentioned.
“It is one factor to take over energy in a coup; it is one other factor to manipulate. They do not have the individuals’s bandwidth. Who’s going to hearken to them? Proper now, there are two fundamental political events in Bangladesh. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you’d like democracy with 170 million individuals… we have now 100 million followers. They haven’t voted for or supported this authorities. So with out their assist, how are you going to manipulate? I wait to see who’s going to hearken to this authorities. It is one factor to be positioned in energy. It is one other factor to have individuals following you,” he mentioned.
He claimed that inside 12 hours of coming to energy, the interim authorities had begun to make errors.
“In 12 hours, they’re already beginning to make errors. They’ve already introduced that elections usually are not a precedence. The precedence is to have trials of the earlier authorities to reform the nation. However nobody gave them the mandate to reform the nation. They do not have the mandate of the individuals of Bangladesh. So who’s going to assist them? Who’s going to observe their orders?” Wazed mentioned.
He mentioned that the Awami League has all the time protected minorities, and identified that the final 15 years had been the most secure for minorities in Bangladesh. He added that the interim authorities has did not maintain minorities protected as they’re attempting to flee the nation.
“Within the historical past of Bangladesh, just one authorities stored the minorities of Bangladesh protected from all militancy and violence. That was the Awami League. The final 15 years had been the most secure interval in Bangladesh’s historical past for minorities and for Bangladesh itself. And it was additionally the interval of the best financial growth development. Even those that are criticizing Sheikh Hasina can not deny it. This non-elected authorities doesn’t have the assist of virtually all the inhabitants of Bangladesh. Are they going to have the ability to maintain minorities protected? The minorities try to flee the nation. I’m anxious about them. I need to do what I can to maintain the minority protected, restore legislation and order to Bangladesh, and produce again democracy. That’s our aim,” he added.
Bangladesh is dealing with a fluid political state of affairs with Sheikh Hasina, tendering her resignation from her publish on August 5 within the wake of mounting protests. The protests erupted in early July on account of calls for for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for particular teams, together with descendants of 1971 battle veterans.
The unrest intensified after college students opposed a brand new coverage allocating authorities jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, resulting in violence, together with assaults on state tv headquarters and police cubicles in Dhaka.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)