In her first public address since the August 2024 changeover, Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a blistering audio message accusing Dr. Muhammad Yunus of heading an “illegal, violent” regime and plunging the nation into chaos in the name of an election sans her party.
Speaking via pre-recorded audio at an event titled “Save Democracy in Bangladesh” at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, Sheikh Hasina framed the current crisis as an existential threat to the country’s sovereignty and Constitution and announced a five-point charter for stabilisation.
She also challenged Yunus directly: to contest against her in any parliamentary seat.
“Bangladesh stands today at the edge of an abyss,” Sheikh Hasina declared, invoking the legacy of the Liberation War. She described the country as “a vast prison, an execution ground, a valley of death,” where human rights are “trampled into the dust,” press freedom is extinguished, and violence against women and minorities flourishes unchecked.
“Life and property have no security. Law and order have collapsed,” she said, alleging mob violence, looting, and extortion grip the nation from the capital to remote villages under the patronisation of the Jamaat-controlled interim government.
Interview With Al Jazeera: Sajeeb Wazed bins propaganda in style
Sajeeb Wazed calls for election boycott, labeling it a โrigged trapโ
Sheikh Hasina labelled the August 5, 2024, uprising a “meticulously engineered conspiracy” and “carefully orchestrated” plot, claiming democracy has been “in exile” since that day.
She accused “extremist forces and foreign interests” of ravaging the country and warned that Yunus is pushing Bangladesh toward a “larger regional conflict” by allegedly handing over national resources and strategic interests to foreign powers.
Sheikh Hasina reserved her sharpest criticism for Yunus, repeatedly branding him a “murderous fascist,” “usurer,” “money launderer,” “occupier,” “power-hungry traitor,” and “national enemy.”
“By deceiving the nation, the murderous fascist Yunus is leading our beloved motherland towards disaster,” she said. “By betraying the nation, the murderous fascist Yunus is pushing our beloved motherland toward disaster.”
5-Point Demands To Heal The Nation
Hasina outlined a five-point charter to restore stability and democracy:
1. Remove the “illegal Yunus administration” to create an environment for free and fair elections. “Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections until the shadow of the Yunus clique is lifted,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina will address press meet in Delhi on January 23
Sheikh Hasina urges mass boycott of February 12 elections
Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus for glorifying โJuly Heroesโ amid political turmoil
2. Restore public security by ending daily violence and lawlessness, as stability is essential for economic recovery and civic functioning.
3. Provide “strong guarantees”โor an “ironclad guarantee”โfor the protection of religious minorities, women, and vulnerable populations, insisting targeted attacks “must end” so every citizen feels safe.
4. Stop politically motivated cases against journalists, Awami League leaders, and activists, and restore the judiciary’s impartiality as a “noble institution.”
5. The United Nations must conduct a “new and truly impartial investigation” into the events of the past year to achieve a “purification of truth” and enable national reconciliation.
Sheikh Hasina positioned the Awami League as the “only legitimate guardian” and “oldest and most important political party” of Bangladesh’s democracy, “inextricably interwoven with our country’s culture and democracy.” She called on “all democratic, progressive, and non-communal forces of the pro-Liberation camp” to unite and restore the constitution “written in the blood of martyrs.”
Sheikh Hasina asks India to stand firmly for democracy, minority protection
Sheikh Hasina asks supporters to boycott the farce election
Sheikh Hasina calls for united resistance against illegal regime, mobocracy
“In this grave hour, the entire nation must rise united and galvanised by the spirit of our great Liberation War,” she urged. “To overthrow the foreign-serving puppet regime… the brave sons and daughters of Bangladesh must defend and restore the Constitution… reclaim our independence, safeguard our sovereignty, and revive our democracy.”
She concluded with a direct appeal: “Do not give up now. Join us in the fight to take back our nation from those who seek to destroy it. Help us rebuild democracy in Bangladesh.”
The address, broadcast to a packed hall including former Awami League ministers and Bangladeshi diaspora members, underscored the deep polarisation in Bangladeshi politics. Hasina portrayed the struggle not as partisan politics but as a civilizational battle between Liberation War ideals and a regime of extremism, chaos, and foreign manipulation.
English 
Bengali