Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin administers the oath of workplace to Muhammad Yunus as the pinnacle of the interim authorities Dhaka on August 8, 2024.
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin slammed Muhammad Yunus, who headed the nation’s interim administration after the autumn of the Sheikh Hasina authorities in August 2024 until the February elections, saying he “didn’t observe the nation’s structure”.
In an interview to Bangladesh newspaper Kaaler Kantho, Mr. Shahabuddin revealed a stark image of the chaos that unfolded within the nation through the interim authorities’s rule saying that the Yunus administration didn’t transient him about essential choices, together with the commerce settlement between Bangladesh and america that was introduced a couple of days earlier than the election.
Mr. Shahabuddin recalled the 18 months of the Yunus administration and stated that there have been makes an attempt to “destroy the regulation and order state of affairs within the nation and create a constitutional disaster”.
The President stated the Yunus administration didn’t seek the advice of him whereas issuing orders. “The structure says that the chief advisor has to transient me after each international journey. However Dr. Yunus didn’t replace me. The chief advisor has to tell me in writing in regards to the talks and discussions that occur abroad. He went overseas some 14 or 15 occasions, however he by no means met me after these journeys,” he stated.
The President stated Mr. Yunus didn’t take him into confidence even when the U.S.-Bangladesh deal was signed. “I ought to have been briefed when the deal was signed… It’s a constitutional mandate. However he (Mr. Yunus) didn’t try this, neither verbally nor in writing.”
On August 8, 2024, Mr. Shahabuddin administered Mr. Yunus, a Nobel laureate, the oath of workplace because the interim authorities’s chief advisor. The President stated he had performed a key function in making Mr. Yunus the chief advisor after the autumn of the Hasina authorities. “I took the initiative to kind the interim authorities. However there was no coordination from the chief advisor’s facet after that. He by no means got here to satisfy me, and stored me at nighttime,” he stated.
Referring to the protests outdoors Bangabhaban, the President’s residence and workplace, on October 22, 2024, Mr. Shahabuddin alleged that there have been “conspiracies to depose him”.
“I used to be resolute and didn’t let any conspiracy succeed, particularly the unconstitutional makes an attempt to take away the President from workplace,” he stated. Mr. Shahabuddin stated the 18 months he spent at Bangabhaban when Mr. Yunus was in cost didn’t give him an excellent expertise. “There was a storm upon me. I don’t know if anybody else would have weathered it,” he stated.
He stated he by no means obtained a name from Mr. Yunus after the protests. “He by no means had any stance for or in opposition to me. And I by no means reached out to him for any assist,” he stated.
The President stated it was Bangladesh Nationwide Social gathering (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman, who grew to become Prime Minister on February 17 after successful a landmark election, who stood by him. “The BNP management assured me and stated that I need to guarantee constitutional continuity within the nation. The armed forces additionally stood by me.”
He stated Mr. Rahman, about whom he was “curious”, was “so cordial” to him.
The President additionally alleged that Yunus administration intentionally stored him on the sidelines and stopped him from travelling overseas on two events. Referring to an invite from Qatar, he stated that the Bangladesh Overseas Ministry wrote a letter with out consulting him. “The letter stated that the ‘President is busy with nationwide obligation and will be unable to journey to Qatar’. I used to be requested to signal that letter,” he stated.
Mr. Shahabuddin stated the interim administration didn’t need him within the limelight and prevented him from attending occasions inside Bangladesh too, even college convocations usually attended by the President.
Citing an try to denigrate the President’s workplace, he stated that the Yunus administration eliminated portraits of the President from consulates and excessive commissions of Bangladesh the world over. “The President represents the nation and it’s a customized to show his portrait. The administration ended decades-long customs in a single evening,” he stated.
Revealed – February 23, 2026 05:43 pm IST