New Delhi:

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus – who last week took oath as head of Bangladesh’s interim government – has heaped praise on students who spearheaded protests against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “There is no doubt… because of the student-led revolution the whole government collapsed…” Mr Yunus told reporters after a Sunday night meet with the students.

“I said (to the students), ‘I respect you… I admire you. What you have done is absolutely unparalleled… and because you ordered me to do this (to take charge of the interim administration) I accept…’,” Mr Yunus said, recounting part of the conversation he had with the students.

Two of the student protesters – Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud – are part of a 16-member advisory council that was sworn in with Mr Yunus. The 84-year-old won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work in microfinance and setting up the Grameen Bank, which works for community development.

READ | Md Yunus Takes Oath As Head Of Bangladesh Interim Government

Mr Yunus has also stressed the wave of resignations of high-ranking public officials, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of Bangladesh’s central bank, was “conducted legally”.

They had reportedly been issued ultimatums to quit.

READ | Why Bangladesh Chief Justice, Sheikh Hasina Loyalist, Was Forced To Quit

“They want to have a new court,” he said of the students. “So they went there and asked the chief justice to resign and put their pressure to make him resign.”

“I’m sure they will find the legal way to justify all of this, because legally… all the steps were followed,” he said. His office only agreed to publish these quotes Monday evening.

“The Monster Is Gone”

“Finally, this moment, the monster is gone,” Mr Yunus also said, referring to Ms Hasina’s departure and the end of what her critics said was an autocratic rule that stifled all dissent. 

However, Mr Yunus warned the interim government that public goodwill is a limited resource and that they would face many difficult decisions ahead. “The moment you start taking decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions,” he said. “…that’s the way it works.”

Interim Bangladesh Government

The interim government was formed after Bangladesh witnessed weeks of violence and clashes – triggered by protests over a jobs quota – forced Ms Hasina, a five-time PM, to resign and flee.

READ | Explained: How Gen Z Women And Military Transformed Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina left the Prime Minister’s residence in Dhaka – hours before it was overrun – and flew to India in a Bangladeshi military aircraft. The 76-year-old, seen as a key ally of New Delhi, remains in an undisclosed location amid reports she will seek political asylum, possibly in the United Kingdom.

Following Ms Hasina’s departure Md Yunus – who faced multiple corruption charges under the previous government and was in Europe while Sheikh Hasina was in power – was picked by the protesting to oversee democratic reforms.

His first act after being administered an oath of office – and taking the title of ‘chief advisor’ – was to lead a solemn tribute to the more than 450 people who died in the protests.

READ | Muhammad Yunus Honours Heroes, First Act As Bangladesh Interim Leader

It is unclear when Bangladesh will hold an election to select a new Prime Minister. Whenever that is, Mrs Hasina is likely to return to contest, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy told The Times of India. “She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he said.

India Extends “Best Wishes”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Mr Yunus,

READ |PM Extends Best Wishes To Yunus, “Hopes For Safety Of Hindus”

“We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development,” he wrote on X. 

READ | How Sheikh Hasina’s Ouster Affects India-Bangladesh Ties

With the change of guard in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Indian government now faces a diplomatic dilemma, even as China was also swift to welcome Dhaka’s new authorities, saying it “attaches importance to the development” of relations.

With input from agencies

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Dhaka:

Muhammad Yunus was on Sunday acquitted in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, three days after he took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, according to a media report.

Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka accepted the Anti-Corruption Commission’s application which was filed with the court, seeking withdrawal of prosecution of the case, following section 494 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an official of the anti-graft agency was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.

On August 7, a Dhaka court acquitted Yunus and three top officials of Grameen Telecom – Ashraful Hassan, M Shahjahan and Nurjahan Begum – in a labour law violation case.

Yunus, the 84-year-old economist, on Thursday took oath as the chief adviser of the interim government.

Nurjahan Begum, who was also an accused in the graft case, is a member of the 16-member Council of Advisers which will assist Yunus in running the state’s affairs.

Yunus had been in a protracted row with the Sheikh Hasina government due to obscure reasons while authorities initiated a series of investigations against him after she came to power in 2008.

Bangladesh authorities launched a review of the statutory Grameen Bank’s activities in 2011 and fired Yunus as its founding managing director on charges of violating the government retirement regulation.

Yunus was charged under dozens of cases during Hasina’s regime.

In January, a court sentenced Yunus to six months in jail on charges of labour law violation.

Many people believe Hasina became enraged when Yunus announced that he would form a political party in 2007 when a military-backed government ran the country and Hasina was in prison.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dhaka:

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus led a solemn tribute to Bangladesh’s fallen independence heroes in the first act of his interim government on Friday, after a student-led uprising forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

A day after returning home from Europe and vowing to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” as he was sworn into office, 84-year-old Yunus began the tough challenge of returning the country to democracy.

Hasina, 76, accused of widespread human rights abuses including the jailing of her political opponents, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on Monday as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets in a dramatic end to her 15-year rule.

The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work — lead an interim government.

Yunus, who has taken the title of “chief advisor” to a caretaker administration, comprised of fellow civilians bar one retired brigadier-general, has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.

When polls might take place is not clear.

Officials of Hasina’s former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge attacks saw some of their offices torched, while former opposition groups such as the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are rebuilding after years of crushing repression.

‘Victory day’

The new administration faces a daunting task.

The veteran economist has called for the restoration of order in the South Asian nation after weeks of violence that left at least 455 people dead, calling on citizens to guard each other, including minorities who came under attack.

In driving rain, Yunus stood silently on Friday alongside student and civil society leaders in the new “advisory” cabinet tasked with steering democratic reforms.

Together the group laid a wreath in the red-and-green colours of the national flag at the main memorial commemorating the millions who died in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Yunus suggested on his arrival on Thursday in Dhaka that Hasina’s ouster was as significant as the conflict that brought Bangladesh into being.

“Bangladesh has created a new victory day,” he told reporters. “Bangladesh has got a second independence.”

Several of Yunus’ advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina’s longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, newly released from years of house arrest.

They also include student leaders who started the protests.

Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his country needed a new generation of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were”.

However, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told the Times of India newspaper his mother still had hope of contesting for political office.

“She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he said.

‘Law and order’

Hasina’s flight abroad has heightened rancour towards India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh’s independence but also backed Hasina to the hilt.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to offer his “best wishes” to Yunus on Thursday moments after he was sworn in, saying New Delhi was “committed” to working with neighbouring Dhaka.

India’s arch-rival Pakistan on Friday also said it hoped it could boost ties with Dhaka, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wishing Yunus “great success in guiding Bangladesh towards a harmonious and prosperous future”.

China said Friday it also welcomed the interim government, promising to work with the country “to promote exchange and cooperation”.

Farida Akhter, an adviser to the interim government, told AFP that the group would also visit a monument in Dhaka where the student protests started last month.

“We are paying our respects there, as the student movement began from there,” she said, before naming the top task on their to-do list.

“Our first priority is law and order”, she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dhaka:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh Thursday to lead a caretaker government after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.

Yunus touched down in Dhaka on a flight from Paris via Dubai shortly after 2:00 pm (0800 GMT) and could be sworn in as the country’s new leader as soon as Thursday evening to begin what the army chief has vowed will be a “beautiful democratic process”.

The prospect of Yunus, 84, standing alongside military leaders was almost unimaginable a week ago when security forces fired deadly rounds at protesters who took to the streets demanding that Hasina resign.

But the military turned on Hasina at the weekend and she was forced to flee to neighbouring India — as millions of Bangladeshis celebrated her demise.

The military then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work — lead an interim government.

“I’m looking forward to going back home, see what’s happening and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in,” Yunus told reporters in Paris as he left for Dhaka.

‘Get ready’

The veteran academic had travelled abroad this year while on bail after being sentenced to six months in jail on a charge condemned as politically motivated, and which a Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted him of.

Yunus was hit with more than 100 criminal cases and a smear campaign by a state-led Islamic agency that accused him of promoting homosexuality, with courts accused of rubber-stamping decisions by ousted Hasina’s government.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said he backed Yunus and hoped he would be sworn in to lead the interim government on Thursday evening.

“I am certain that he will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process,” Waker said.

Yunus said he wanted to hold elections “within a few” months.

‘Seismic moment’

Few other details about the planned government have been released, including the role of the military.

But Bangladeshis voiced hope as they joined a rally in Dhaka on Wednesday for the former opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

“I expect that a national government will be formed with everyone’s consent in a beautiful way,” Moynul Islam Pintu told AFP.

“I expect that the country is run in a nice way, and the police force is reformed so that they can’t harass people.”

Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, quit on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Dhaka.

Jubilant crowds later looted her palace.

Monday’s events were the culmination of more than a month of unrest, which began as protests against a plan for quotas in government jobs but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement.

Hasina, who was accused of rigging the January elections and widespread human rights abuses, deployed security forces to quash the protests.

At least 455 people were killed in the unrest, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and hospital doctors.

“The protests are a seismic moment in Bangladesh history,” said International Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean.

“The country really had been at risk of becoming a one-party state, and through a peaceful street-based movement led by, Gen Z students in their 20s, they’ve managed to force her from power.”

Military move

The military’s switching of allegiance was the decisive factor in her demise.

It has since acceded to a range of other demands from the student leaders.

The president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, a key demand of the students and the BNP.

The head of the police force, which protesters have blamed for leading Hasina’s crackdown, was sacked on Tuesday.

The new chief, Mainul Islam, offered an apology on Wednesday for the conduct of officers and vowed a “fair and impartial investigation” into the killings of “students, common people and the police”.

Ex-prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, 78, was also released from years of house arrest, while some political prisoners were freed.

The military has demoted some generals seen as close to Hasina and sacked Ziaul Ahsan, a commander of the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force.

Police said mobs had launched revenge attacks on officers and Hasina’s allies, and also freed more than 500 inmates from a prison.

Protesters broke into parliament and torched TV stations. Others smashed statues of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.

Since Tuesday, however, streets in the capital have been largely peaceful.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)