Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in New Delhi, after being forced to flee by irate mobs following quota reform protests, said the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is perpetrating “genocide”.
“Today, I am being accused of genocide. In reality, Yunus has been involved in genocide in a meticulously designed manner. The masterminds — the student coordinators and Yunus — are behind this genocide,” Hasina said.
In a virtual address at an event in New York, Hasina accused Yunus of failing to protect minorities including Hindus. She also made an oblique reference to the arrest of International Society Of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu in her address.
“Hindus, Buddhists, Christians — no one has been spared. Eleven churches have been razed, temples and Buddhist shrines have been broken. When the Hindus protested, the Iskcon leader was arrested,” Hasina said.
“What is this persecution of minorities for? Why are they being ruthlessly persecuted and attacked?” she asked, while speaking to attendees in Bangla. There has been a spate of attacks on minorities including on the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the last few months.
India last week said the interim government in Bangladesh must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities as it expressed serious concern over the “surge” of extremist rhetoric and increasing incidents of violence against Hindus.
New Delhi also hoped that the case relating to Das, arrested on a charge of sedition, would be dealt with in a just, fair and transparent manner.
“Our position on the matter is very clear — the interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing on Friday.
“We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggeration. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all steps for the protection of minorities,” he added.
The relations between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Yunus came to power. India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.
’Hatched Mujibur-Like Assassination Plot’
The ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister claimed that there were plans to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana just like their father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“The armed protestors were directed towards Ganabhaban. If the security guards opened fire, many lives would have been lost. It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, and I was forced to leave. I told them [guards] not to fire no matter what happened,” Hasina said, describing the situation on the day she fled Dhaka (August 5).
Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975.
“People no longer have the right to justice… I never even got the time to resign,” she said.
Hasina said she left Bangladesh in August with an aim to stop the violence, but that did not happen.