Bangladesh Reacts with Shock to Hasina's Delhi Address
Bangladesh Reacts with Shock to Hasina's Delhi Address
Dhaka condemns India's hosting of Hasina's Delhi speech, calling it a dangerous precedent that could strain ties ahead of Bangladesh's February elections.
Bangladesh said it was surprised and shocked that India allowed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to make a public address in New Delhi. Hasina, 78, has been in India since August 2024 after a student-led uprising in Bangladesh ended her 15-year rule. She delivered her first public speech since then via an audio address to a packed press club in Delhi on Friday.
In her remarks, Hasina described Yunus as a "corrupt, power-hungry traitor" and urged the nation to rise to overthrow the interim government, declaring that the foreign-serving puppet regime must be dethroned to defend the Constitution written in the blood of martyrs, safeguard sovereignty, and revive democracy ahead of the February 12 general election.
Bangladesh's foreign ministry said the event was a surprise and a shock, calling it a dangerous precedent that could seriously impair bilateral relations. It argued that allowing Hasina to speak in the Indian capital and letting her openly deliver her views amounted to an affront to the people and government of Bangladesh.
The ministry's statement noted Hasina's convictions in absentia by a Dhaka court in November on charges of incitement, issuing an order to kill, and inaction to prevent atrocities, for which she was sentenced to be hanged.
The Delhi address occurred less than three weeks before the scheduled general election in Bangladesh, highlighting the fragile and complex dynamics between the two South Asian nations as regional politics intersect with domestic ballots.
