'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.
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.
Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
ALSO READ: Search operation ends in Anjaw truck accident, 20 bodies recovered
The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
ALSO READ: National Herald case: Shivakumar to seek time next week to appear before Delhi police
"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
