'Living freely in India', Sheikh Hasina says she won’t return to Bangladesh under illegitimate rule
New Delhi: Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been freely living in exile in New Delhi since fleeing her country in August 2024 amid student-led protests over government job quotas, has reportedly said she will not return to Bangladesh under any government formed after elections that exclude her party, the Awami League.
In her first media appearance since going into exile, Hasina described her life in India as “free but cautious,” referencing the assassination of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader, and three brothers during a 1975 military coup while she and her sister were abroad.
“I would of course love to go home, so long as the government there was legitimate, the constitution was being upheld, and law and order genuinely prevailed,” news agency Reuters quoted Hasina as saying.
The 78-year-old Awami League chief fled Bangladesh after a 15-year rule ended amid violent protests, and an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has been in power since her ouster. The interim administration has pledged to hold national elections next February.
The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration in May, and the Yunus-led government subsequently banned all party activities, citing national security concerns and ongoing investigations into senior Awami League leaders for alleged war crimes, added the report.
“The ban on the Awami League is not only unjust, it is self-defeating. The next government must have electoral legitimacy. Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works,” Reuters quoted Hasina as saying.
Hasina further said that her party still hopes common sense will prevail and that they will be allowed to contest the election themselves.
Hasina, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity related to the crackdown on protesters during the 2024 agitation, dismissed the ongoing trial against her as a “politically motivated charade.
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Swamiji fires gun into the air in Kalaburagi village, video goes viral
Kalaburagi: An incident involving a swamiji firing a gun into the air has been reported from Udachan village in Afzalpur taluk of Kalaburagi district. The act, captured on video, has since gone viral on social media.
The swamiji has been identified as Sri Shantalinga Shivacharya, pontiff of the Hiremath of Sri Shankaralingeshwara Samsthana. According to reports, the incident took place on Sunday evening within the premises of the math, where the swamiji allegedly fired a single-barrel gun into the air.
This is not the first time the swami has courted controversy. Last year, he was reportedly found driving erratically under the influence of alcohol in Salotagi village of neighbouring Indi taluk, following which members of the public confronted him. He later fled from the math, sources said.
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More recently, during the annual fair of the Sri Shankaralingeshwara Math in Udachan village, the swami had arrived at the village with police protection, claiming to be the rightful pontiff of the math. Despite opposition from villagers, he reportedly went ahead and conducted rituals related to the fair.
The latest incident of firing the gun into the air has triggered criticism, especially after the video surfaced online. Further action, if any, is awaited from the authorities.
