‘Hasina destroyed everything’: Yunus calls for reforms before holding Bangladesh polls
Bangladesh interim government’s chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, has accused the Sheikh Hasina regime of destroying “everything” in the country.
He pledged to hold general elections only after ushering in constitutional and judicial reforms.
“The country’s governance structure has been completely destroyed during Hasina’s 15-year rule, and a huge task has fallen on us to rebuild it by restoring democracy, economic stability and public trust,” said the 84-year-old Nobel laureate, in an interview with Nikkei Asia, PTI reported.
He added that Bangladesh needed comprehensive reforms in the economy, governance, bureaucracy and judiciary before holding elections.
Yunus called on India to extradite Hasina once her trial in the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh concludes.
“Once the trial concludes and a verdict is reached, we will formally request India to hand her over,” Yunus said.
He also pointed out that under an international law signed by both countries, “India would be obligated to comply.”
The chief adviser also said the Indian government’s concern about the safety of Hindus is not based on facts, calling it propaganda.
Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the Indian envoy to its Foreign Office while announcing the suspension of consular services at its mission in Tripura’s Agartala, a day after the premises were breached by protesters.
The relations between the two neighbours have deteriorated ever since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister in August with India expressing concern over Hindus and other minorities being targeted in Bangladesh and aggravated further with the arrest of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das last week.
Das’s bail plea in a sedition case at a court in Chattogram was deferred to January 2 after no lawyer appeared for him and his supporters later claimed that his advocates are under threat.
Muhammed Yunus’ reforms
Yunus said in the interview Bangladesh’s interim government has established several commissions to promote reforms in areas such as the electoral system, constitution and judiciary.
He said the government would implement full-scale reforms by January after receiving recommendations from those commissions.
“Implementing these reforms will take time, as we are essentially building a new Bangladesh from scratch,” he said.
Yunus ruled himself out from contesting the elections.
“No, I’m not a politician. I’ve always stayed away from politics,” he said in the interview.
Yunus became the Chief Adviser of the interim-government in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as PM on August 5. She fled to India amid widespread protests against her 15-year rule and the controversial quota system.