Dhaka: Sheikh Hasina’s close aide told Times Now that she decided to resign as prime minister of protest-hit Bangladesh so that the death toll does not increase. He said that the hardliners wanted more casualties in the ongoing clashes between protesters and police.
Before fleeing the country, the Awami League leader told her close aide that the US was behind the protests, which have so far claimed over 200 lives and there is no end in sight. Hasina wanted to give a speech to make people aware of these things before leaving the country, but she had to pack her things and flee.
“I resigned so that I don’t have to see the procession of bodies. They wanted to come to power on the bodies of students, but I didn’t let that happen. I resigned as prime minister. If I had given up sovereignty of St Martin’s Island and let the US take over the Bay of Bengal, I could have remained in power. I request the people of my country to please not be misled by the fundamentalists,” Hasina told her aide before stepping down.
She further added, “If I had stayed in the country, more lives would have been lost, more resources would have been destroyed. I took an extremely difficult decision to step out. I became your leader because you chose me, you were my strength.”
She added, “Don’t lose hope. I will be back soon. I have lost, but the people of Bangladesh have won, the people for whom my father, my family died.”
Hasina resigned as Bangladesh’s prime minister and fled the country amid mounting pressure from the military and protesters. She arrived in India, where she was allowed to stay only “for a short time”, but had to extend her stay as Britain refused to grant her asylum. The former prime minister is still trying to negotiate with other countries while staying at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main rival of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, has expressed dissatisfaction over India’s decision to grant asylum to the ousted prime minister after she fled to India on Monday.
Senior BNP leader Gayeswar Roy said, “The BNP believes that Bangladesh and India should cooperate. The Indian government should understand this sentiment and work accordingly. However, supporting its opponents makes it difficult to maintain that cooperation.” Roy made these remarks from Dhaka.