Yunus: Asked Modi to Restrain Hasina from Political Remarks But Request Was Ignored

Dhaka : Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus conveyed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi brushed aside his request to prevent former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from making political statements from Indian soil. Muhammad Yunus asked if he himself was seeking any political post, the 84-year-old nobel peace prize winner said there was “no way”, waving his hands in the air for emphasis.

Yunus said “No way, no way. I think no one of our cabinet members (Council of Advisers) would like to do that,”.”Our job is to make sure that the transition is managed well, and that people are happy when we hand over power to the elected government”. “So we want to make sure that the election is right, that is a very critical factor for us. If the election is wrong, this thing will never be solved again”. He also recalled the time when he sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help in stopping former PM Sheikh Hasina from making political statements. Sheikh Hasina has faced multiple cases in Bangladesh. She fled Bangladesh and landed in India after the massive uprising that saw hundreds storming her official residence.“This will continue, another stage has come, now there is a case. The International Crimes Tribunal has started the trial process; they sent notices to Hasina for all the crimes she has committed. So, they have to respond to the notices,” he said.“This is a legal notice, so we have to go to the Interpol and all the other things that happen through that. This is the process that we are following; we want it to be very legal, very proper.”He said, “When I had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I simply said you want to host her, I cannot force you to abandon that policy. But please help us in making sure she doesn’t speak to Bangladeshi people the way she is doing.She announces on such and such day and at such and such hour she will speak, and the whole of Bangladesh gets very angry.”