Two years after being ousted from power and taking refuge in India, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made her first public appearance on Wednesday with an emotional virtual address from New Delhi. During her speech, she claimed that the 2024 uprising that led to her removal was a "planned regime change" carried out under the guise of a student movement.
In her audio address, Hasina argued that the July-August 2024 protests were never a genuine student-led agitation. Instead, she alleged they were part of a "meticulously designed" effort to overthrow her government and install a new administration without following the democratic process. Her remarks came despite objections from Dhaka, while India clarified that the event had been organised by a private entity and had no government involvement.
Hasina began by paying tribute to Bangladesh's founding leader and her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War, and members of her family who were killed during the military coup of August 1975.
Holding back tears, she recalled the killings of her father and several relatives, saying she spoke out of her love for Bangladesh. Describing the country's current situation as deeply concerning, she then turned to the events that resulted in her government's fall.
Questions official account of 2024 uprising
Rejecting the commonly accepted narrative of the 2024 unrest, Hasina claimed the movement had been carefully planned well before protests erupted. She alleged that the quota agitation was transformed into a single-point campaign aimed at removing her government and seizing power without an electoral mandate.
According to Hasina, what appeared to be a student-led protest was actually "a meticulously designed" operation. She further claimed that Nobel laureate and former interim chief Muhammad Yunus had himself revealed the reality of the alleged conspiracy after taking charge of Bangladesh's interim administration.
"Not a peaceful student movement"
Hasina also disputed claims that the protests had begun peacefully.
"July 2024 was not a peaceful student movement from the beginning," she said.
She maintained that her government had attempted to resolve the issue through dialogue by appealing the High Court's verdict on the quota system and inviting student leaders for discussions before the situation escalated.
Hasina further alleged that the protests were later converted into a "one-point demand" for her removal and exploited by "organised groups" seeking to capture power "outside the ballot box".
Targets Yunus-led interim administration
Launching a sharp attack on the interim administration, Hasina repeatedly referred to it as an "illegal interim government". She alleged that one of its first decisions was to provide indemnity to those responsible for killing police personnel during the violence.
According to Hasina, her government had already established a judicial inquiry commission on July 18, 2024, to investigate every death and incident of violence linked to the unrest. She claimed the inquiry was halted immediately after the interim administration assumed office.
"If they weren't afraid, why did they not allow the truth to come out," she asked.
Hasina further alleged that Awami League leaders and workers, police personnel, journalists, lawyers, judges and members of minority communities had faced arrests, violence and intimidation following her removal from office.
She also claimed that "convicted militants have been released" under the present administration.
Describing developments after the uprising as "a coordinated assault on the Constitution", Hasina accused the current government of suppressing dissent and targeting those associated with the ideals of Bangladesh's Liberation War.
Alleges economic decline under current government
Turning to the economy, Hasina painted a bleak picture of Bangladesh under the present administration. She alleged that the BNP-led government was relying on monthly borrowing of between 700 crore and 900 crore taka from Bangladesh Bank.
She claimed numerous factories had shut down and that several industrialists and business owners had either fled the country or gone into hiding. According to Hasina, Bangladesh's economic performance had deteriorated significantly since she left office.
She further alleged that GDP growth had slowed, industrial production had contracted for the first time in decades, bank loan defaults had risen sharply, poverty had increased and private investment had weakened.
"I will return to my people"
Concluding her address with a defiant message, Hasina said she would return to Bangladesh despite the legal cases pending against her.
"I will return to my people. I trust them," she said.
She added that fear would not stop her from carrying out what she described as her duty to the people of Bangladesh. According to Hasina, her return would not be about regaining power but about restoring "security, development, prosperity and peace" and putting the country "back on the right track".
Hasina has been living in India since leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after the student-led uprising forced her from office. Since then, Bangladesh has sought her extradition, while the former prime minister has rejected the allegations against her and continued to accuse the country's current administration of weakening democratic institutions.
