by Admin
Feb 7, 2025
According to a statement from the foreign ministry, the Bangladesh government has formally requested India to prevent ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from making what it described as “false and fabricated” statements while residing in the country.
The former prime minister fled to India in August following a wave of violent protests that claimed over 1,000 lives. In a virtual address on Wednesday, she urged her supporters to resist the interim government, accusing it of unlawfully seizing power.
Her remarks triggered further unrest in Bangladesh, where thousands of demonstrators attempted to disrupt her speech. In the chaos, protestors set fire to the residence of Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and Bangladesh’s founding leader. The violence escalated in the aftermath of her address.
In response, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry delivered a formal protest note to India’s acting high commissioner in Dhaka, expressing “deep concern, disappointment, and serious reservations” over Hasina’s statements.
In a statement shared on Facebook, the ministry urged India to take “immediate and appropriate measures, in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding,” to stop her from making “such false, fabricated, and incendiary statements.”
While India has not officially commented on Bangladesh’s protest, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the attack on Mujibur Rahman’s residence, calling it an “act of vandalism.”
“All those who value the freedom struggle that shaped Bangladesh’s identity recognize the significance of this residence in the country’s national consciousness,” Jaiswal stated.
Mujibur Rahman, who declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, was assassinated along with most of his family inside the same house in 1975. Hasina later converted the building into a museum honoring her father’s legacy.
Amid rising tensions, the interim government’s chief adviser, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, appealed for calm. On Friday, he urged citizens to uphold law and order and to refrain from attacking properties linked to Hasina’s family or her Awami League party.
“Any attacks on their properties give them an excuse to attract international attention and propagate their fabricated narratives,” Yunus further warned. “A deterioration in law and order will send the wrong message to the world.”