New Delhi: The massive student-led protests last year in Bangladesh led to the political turmoil in country, resulting in former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ouster and power shift, according to the India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Annual 2024 Report, which has been recently published. The report highlights how Hasina's government was confronted by a student led movement over contentious issue of quotas and reservation for families of freedom fighters.
Hasina resigned and left the country on August 5 after the widespread protests led to the toppling of the nearly 16-year Awami League regime. It triggered a constitutional crisis due to lack of provisions for interim governance.
Call for a political transition
The protests paved the way for the removal of the government led by Sheikh Hasina, thereby, and a call for a political transition. Following this, an interim government led by Mohammad Yunus was appointed as the leader of the government.
The MEA report also highlights the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leader to extend his support and wishes to Yunus upon the assumption of his office. It also emphasised the fact that such a gesture underscored India's commitment to goals of maintaining bilateral ties with Bangladesh despite the ongoing political turbulence.
No mention of Sheikh Hasina's presence in India
The report has no mention of Hasina's presence in India, a detail that has been at the centre of speculation since former Bangladesh PM's exit from her country. The Bangladesh interim government recently urged India to extradite Hasina, citing a leaked audio report by BBC which hinted that she gave "find and shoot" order during students' protests in the country. Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, in a statement on social media, said, “We now urge the Republic of India to act with conscience and moral clarity.”
