Hasina's 'brutal dictatorship' destroyed every institution of Bangladesh: Interim govt chief Yunus
Dhaka, Aug 18: Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Sunday alleged that Sheikh Hasina's "brutal dictatorship" destroyed every institution of the country during her decade-and-a-half-long reign when elections were "blatantly rigged."
Briefing foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka for the first time, 10 days after assuming charge as the Chief Advisor of the interim government after Hasina's resignation and her fleeing to India, the 84-year-old Nobel laureate sought the support from the international community to rebuild Bangladesh after the “Second Revolution” following the mass uprising.
Yunus assured the diplomats, including India's High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, that his administration will hold a “free, fair and participatory” election as soon as his government completes the "mandate" of carrying out "vital reforms."
"The revolutionary students want us to carry meaningful and deep reforms, which will turn the country into a real and thriving democracy. The task is huge but doable with the support of all people and the international community," he said.
Hasina, 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.
After Hasina's ouster, Yunus took oath as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8.
"In their efforts to stay in power, Sheikh Hasina's dictatorship destroyed every institution of the country. The judiciary was broken. Democratic rights were suppressed through a brutal decade-and-a-half-long crackdown,” Yunus alleged.
Hasina served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024.
Yunus said his government would hold "free, fair and participatory" elections soon but the voting would be held "as soon as we can complete our mandate to carry out vital reforms in our election commission, judiciary, civil administration, security forces, and media".
Yunus said he took over a country that was "in many ways a "complete mess" following the "brutal dictatorship" of Hasina.
Yunus said, "Bangladesh witnessed a Second Revolution, while hundreds of thousands of valiant students and people rose up against the brutal dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina".
He emphasised on required reforms in the Election Commission, judiciary, civil administration, security forces and the media.
The chief adviser alleged elections held under Hasina's regime were "rigged blatantly and generations of young people grew up without exercising their voting rights."
"Banks were robbed with full political patronisation. And the state coffer was plundered by abusing power,” Yunus said, adding that they will also make sincere efforts to promote national reconciliation.
Yunus said they will undertake robust and far-reaching economic reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and sustained growth, with priority attached to good governance and combating corruption and mismanagement.
"The top priority of the Interim Government would be to bring the law and order situation under control...The armed forces will continue to serve in aid of civil power as long as the situation warrants," he said.
“We will be close to normalcy within a short period, with the unwavering support of our people and patriotic armed forces,” Yunus said.
The police force has also resumed its operations. The armed forces will continue to serve in aid of civil power as long as the situation warrants.
"Our government remains pledge-bound to ensure the safety and security of all religious and ethnic groups,” he said.
Bangladesh saw a spike in violence against members of Hindu communities following the fall of the Hasina-led government.
He said they have also made it a priority to ensure justice and accountability for all the killings and violence committed during the recent mass uprising.
He said they will uphold and promote all their international legal obligations, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
"Our government will adhere to all international, regional and bilateral instruments it is a party to. Bangladesh shall continue to remain an active proponent of multilateralism, with the UN at the core," Yunus said.
"Our government will nurture friendly relations with all countries in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding and shared interests," he said.
He called upon their trade and investment partners to maintain their trust in Bangladesh for economic prosperity.
“Bangladesh stands at the crossroads of a new beginning. Our valiant students and people deserve a lasting transformation of our nation. It is a difficult journey and we need your help along the way. We need to fulfil their aspirations. The sooner the better,” he said, adding that they have to create opportunities to build a poverty-free and prosperous new Bangladesh.
Yunus, who is known widely for his pioneering of microfinancing, said he expected the international community to stand by his government and people as "we chart a new democratic future".
"We believe all our friends and partners in the international community will stand by our government and people as we chart a new democratic future,” he said.
Yunus paid deep respect and homage to all those valiant students and innocent people who made the supreme sacrifice.
“Students of no other countries in our recent memory had to pay so much a price for expressing their democratic aspirations, dreaming a discrimination-free, equitable, and environmentally-friendly nation where human rights of every citizen are fully protected,” he said.
"We have also made it a priority to ensure justice and accountability for all the killings and violence committed during the recent mass uprising," he said, adding that his government welcomed the UN rights office's move to send a UN-led fact-finding mission.
"We want an impartial and internationally credible investigation into the massacre and subsequent due judicial processes. We will provide whatever support the UN investigators need," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
