Two years after her government was overthrown, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made her first public address, virtually speaking from New Delhi. During the address, she vehemently rejected the widely accepted narrative of the July-August 2024 movement as a student-led protest, instead claiming it was a meticulously planned operation to remove her from power and install a new regime.
Uprising a 'Planned Regime Change'
Hasina asserted that the 2024 uprising was not a spontaneous student movement but a carefully orchestrated effort. She attributed the planning to a "mastermind," citing comments allegedly made by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. "Muhammad Yunus himself said this was a meticulously designed movement, led by a mastermind. His own words expose the truth," Hasina stated.
She further elaborated that the movement lacked visible leadership, with instructions given invisibly, indicating an organized effort to seize power outside the democratic process. Hasina maintained that her government had initially attempted to resolve the protests peacefully through dialogue and legal means, but organized groups exploited student demands for political ends.
Deep Concern for Bangladesh
Expressing profound concern for Bangladesh over the past two years, Hasina remarked, "For the last two years, I watched my beloved Bangladesh suffer...This is not the Bangladesh we built; this is not the Bangladesh for which 3 million people sacrificed their lives in 1971." She began her speech by honoring Bangladesh's founding leader, her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War, describing the country's current state as deeply worrying.
Intention to Return
Despite the current government's objections to her address, Sheikh Hasina reiterated her firm intention to return to Bangladesh. However, she did not specify a date for her return. Indian authorities clarified that the virtual program was organized by a private entity and did not involve the Indian government.