Sheikh Hasina trying to provoke armed rebellion, says BNP

BNP leaders say that in the audio leaked on Sunday, the former PM can be heard instructing the Jubo League and Chhatra League to prepare for armed resistance

NEW DELHI

Several audio recordings of purported conversations between deposed Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and members of her party, the Awami League, have stirred controversy in Bangladesh, with her opponents accusing her of trying to incite violence as the interim government plans the next election cycle. In the latest audio clip that went viral on Sunday, ex-PM Hasina can be heard saying that those who targeted her party members would face consequences.

Though the reports of the phone calls from former PM Hasina began circulating soon after she was forced to leave Dhaka on 5 August in a helicopter, the matter gained attention in September when a conversation between her and an Awami League supporter from the US was shared widely. In the conversation, she had said, “I am nearby. I can return quickly if necessary.” In the latest conversation, Sheikh Hasina can be heard saying, “You should make a list of those who are carrying out attacks on our people. No one will be spared. I can return any moment.”

The conversations were initially dismissed as being generated by AI but subsequently began to be taken seriously after Jehangir Kabir, general secretary of Barguna District of the Awami League, was arrested by police for conspiring with Hasina, who is currently wanted in multiple cases related to the student uprising in Bangladesh.

Inciting violence

Hasina’s conversations with her party colleagues were taken up by leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who said she was trying to incite violence from outside. “An audio of Sheikh Hasina’s conversation was leaked on Sunday, in which she instructs the Jubo League and Chhatra League to prepare for armed resistance. It means she’s issuing threats of bloodshed,” joint general secretary of the BNP Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday.

The controversy has sharpened the political divide in Dhaka. The interim government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Awami League’s student wing, last week. After the Chhatra League’s banning, the conversation in Dhaka has now shifted towards banning the Awami League itself so that it can be prevented from participating in the next election.

Bangladesh’s interim government has made it clear that it will initiate political and economic reforms before the next election is announced. The interim government’s attitude towards the Awami League and its participation in the electoral process are issues that are being discussed currently in the ruling circles of Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, the government’s law adviser, Asif Nazrul, announced that the process of constituting the election commission of Bangladesh has started, and the country will have an election soon. He, however, indicated that the interim government would revise the electoral list ahead of polling. “The people of the county had no interest in the voter list since previous elections were fake. This time, we will hold an extraordinary free and fair election,” Asif Nazrul said in response to questions from the media in Dhaka.

Published - October 30, 2024 04:40 am IST