{"id":4956,"date":"2025-11-27T21:42:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T15:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4956"},"modified":"2025-11-27T21:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T15:42:49","slug":"awami-league-warns-of-foiling-election-if-barred-through-false-cases-verdicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4956","title":{"rendered":"Awami League warns of foiling election if barred through false cases, verdicts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Bangladesh Awami League termed Thursday\u2019s court verdict convicting several members of Sheikh Hasina\u2019s family in the Purbachal plot allocation case \u201cfalse, fabricated, and politically motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The party announced countrywide demonstrations on Friday and nonstop protest programmes until November 30, while reiterating its threat to \u201cfoil\u201d the national election scheduled for February 2026 if it is excluded through what it calls judicial harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u09a6\u09c7\u09b6\u099c\u09c1\u09dc\u09c7 \u0986\u0993\u09df\u09be\u09ae\u09c0 \u09b2\u09c0\u0997\u09c7\u09b0 \u09a8\u09c7\u09a4\u09be\u0995\u09b0\u09cd\u09ae\u09c0\u09a6\u09c7\u09b0 \u0993\u09aa\u09b0 \u0985\u09a4\u09cd\u09af\u09be\u099a\u09be\u09b0 \u0993 \u09a8\u09bf\u09aa\u09c0\u09dc\u09a8 \u09a8\u09bf\u09df\u09c7 \u09b6\u09c7\u0996 \u09b9\u09be\u09b8\u09bf\u09a8\u09be\u09b0 \u0995\u09cd\u09b7\u09cb\u09ad | VoPA |\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pdleZMe4DtM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a strongly-worded <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/albd1971\/status\/1994029172637983223\">statement<\/a>, the Awami League said the verdict was part of a broader conspiracy by the \u201cillegal, usurping, killer-fascist Yunus clique\u201d to defame Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman\u2019s family and push the party out of electoral politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4929\">Sheikh Hasina calls locker break-in \u201cYunus\u2019 bank dacoity\u201d in explosive audio<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4926\">Awami League brands Yunus\u2019 jihadist regime a \u2018killer-fascist\u2019 menace<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4913\">Leading UK lawyers condemn \u2018contrived\u2019 Bangladesh trial of Tulip Siddiq<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe entire nation is witnessing how state power has been captured illegally, and the country is plunged into chaos. There is no rule of law, no justice in courts. Today\u2019s judiciary has become a subservient tool to protect the interests of the illegal regime,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Awami League argued that family members of the Father of the Nation who do not own land in Dhaka are legally entitled to purchase RAJUK plots under existing rules, insisting there was no corruption in the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Bangabandhu\u2019s grandson and a former adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, had already rejected the allegations in August this year, stating that \u201cevery step\u2014from application to allotment to payment\u2014followed the letter of the law\u201d and that the plots were purchased at official government rates, not allotted free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=2788\">Sajeeb Wazed bins graft charges, condemns farcical trial for Purbachal plots<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=782\">Sheikh Hasina reveals Yunus empire, built on ill-gotten money<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=2732\">Ex-secretary: 8 advisers of Yunus government engaged in massive corruption<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based in the US, Sajeeb Wazed had thrown an open challenge to the authorities to prove that the family members named in the case own any other property in Dhaka, a challenge that has remained unanswered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to BBC Bangla in a recent interview, Sajeeb Wazed went further, warning that if the Awami League is prevented from contesting the upcoming parliamentary election through continued verdicts in what he described as \u201cfalse and fabricated cases,\u201d the party will have \u201cno option but to take to the streets and foil the election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe will not allow a staged election that excludes the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, and pro-liberation forces. It will be resisted at any cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Awami League statement on Wednesday echoed the same stance: \u201cA staged election excluding the pro-liberation forces, the Awami League, and Sheikh Hasina will not be allowed in Bangladesh. It will be resisted at any cost, Inshallah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The party has called for demonstrations, protest marches, and resistance programmes across all districts and upazilas on Friday, specifically against the Purbachal verdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4549\">Interview With TNEI: Sheikh Hasina rebuffs graft charges, vows to return to elections \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=3370\">ACC is showing a political circus by targeting Sheikh Hasina and her family<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has also declared that protests and agitation will continue without break until 30 November, combining demands for the resignation of West\u2019s puppet Yunus with rejection of recent verdicts by the Jamaat-controlled International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) and the Purbachal cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senior Awami League leaders urged \u201call patriotic citizens who believe in the spirit of the Liberation War\u201d to join the programmes and make them a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yunus&#8217; Empire<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Initially, Grameen Bank was a project under an institute of the Economics Department of Chittagong University. In 1983, the government established the bank by promulgating a military ordinance. Yunus used to work as the managing director at the Grameen Bank with a salary of Tk6,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He, however, earned a huge sum of money and property soon. Cases and investigation reports suggest that he transferred Grameen Bank funds to other institutions and companies by different means, which are deemed illegal and unethical. Yunus admits that he did so, in many cases, to evade tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina said she gave Yunus Tk400 crore for the Grameen Bank and gave a license for Grameen Phone after taking office in 1996. But he acted against her during the army-backed caretaker government in 2007-08. He suggested that Sheikh Hasina be kept in jail and left out of politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Sheikh Hasina returned to power, investigations were launched against Yunus\u2019 corruption and irregularities, especially for tax evasion and embezzlement of funds meant for the poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was also holding the post of the managing director of Grameen Bank, defying the rules he once set for the bank. After the Bangladesh Bank removed him from the post, Yunus challenged the order in court but lost the legal battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the same time, Yunus engaged with the Clinton family and requested that then-Secretary Hillary Clinton help him survive the legal complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the following years, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed several corruption cases against Yunus. Meanwhile, Yunus\u2019 aides continued to threaten Sheikh Hasina and her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, with consequences if the investigations against Yunus were not stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina said that Yunus has investments worth $17 billion through his companies, including Grameen America, across the world. In France alone, he has a business of $2 billion and has shares with two or three banks there. She heard that Yunus bought a very expensive flat in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has no shortage of wealth in Bangladesh. In the reports of three banks, he was the owner of Tk118 crore, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said that Yunus is using the courts and the ACC to bring false corruption allegations against her. He is doing these to hide his own misdeeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=4387\">Corruption: Why Khaleda\u2019s family has proof, Sheikh Hasina\u2019s does not<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=3327\">Bangladesh\u2019s Crisis Deepens in 2025: A Nation in Decline<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina said: \u201cWe took 10 kathas of land in Purbachal. Is that a big crime that we are completely under the radar? None of our sons and daughters is left out\u2026 Joy, Putul, Bobby, Tulip, Rehana\u2026 Is having 10 kathas of land a crime? Why did we commit a crime? Don\u2019t we have the right to acquire 10 kathas of land? We have given all our resources to the people. Don\u2019t our sons and daughters have any rights?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Describing the empire of Yunus, she said that he has 4,800 kathas of land in Purbachal, where he has built a resort named Nishorgo. It has a branch in Cox\u2019s Bazar. \u201cHe also bought 5 acres of land in Uttara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, how did he take so much land in Purbachal? By what law? What plan did he use to acquire the land, and will he not have to answer for it? He will not be tried\u2026 Will he not be held accountable?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Hasina said that Yunus has bought land worth Tk6,000 crore all over Bangladesh. \u201cWill it serve the people? Have people received even a single service to date? No one has seen the face of the Ananda School that was supposed to be built by Yunus in Chittagong (on 83 or 87 kathas of land),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grameen Power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bangladesh\u2019s economy may be tanking, hundreds of thousands may have lost their livelihoods, law and order may be comparable to a war zone, and inflation may be out of control, but one \u201cbrand\u201d has remained untouched by the woes impacting millions. That being said, \u201cGrameen\u201d is the word synonymous with Muhammad Yunus, leader of Bangladesh\u2019s current unelected and unconstitutional regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yunus, his cronies, and the Grameen-related social and business enterprises have had a very prosperous seven and a half months. For instance, Grameen Kalyan was relieved from $54.8 million in taxes: on October 3, 2024, the\u00a0High Court\u00a0mysteriously withdrew its own earlier ruling dated August 4, 2024, which ordered \u201cGrameen Kalyan\u201d to pay the National Board of Revenue (NBR) TK666 Crore (approximately $54.8 million) in unpaid taxes from 2012 to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grameen Bank got tax exemption for 5 years: On October 10, 2024, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) provided Grameen Bank\u00a0tax-exempt<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tbsnews.net\/nbr\/nbr-grants-tax-exemption-grameen-bank-till-2029-964846#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> status<\/a>\u00a0for five years until 2029. The exemption includes all types of income, including rental income from properties and vehicles, bank interest, and other earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Government Oversight on Grameen Bank Reduced: It is crucial for a bank that solely focuses on microfinance activities to have government oversight or a stake. Surprisingly, a draft ordinance has been prepared by the Interim Government, which aims to reduce the government\u2019s shares in the bank from 25% to 5% and reduce the government-appointed directors from 3 to 1. While the interim government says this is to increase independence, analysts believe that the real reason for divesting the\u00a0government\u2019s stakes\u00a0in the bank is to bolster the control of the Yunus loyalists in the bank\u2019s management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cases Withdrawn and Convictions Reversed<\/strong>: On August 7, 2024, a day before Yunus was sworn in as the Chief Adviser, the Labour Appellate Tribunal\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.risingbd.com\/english\/national\/news\/106135\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reversed\u00a0<\/a>the decision of a Dhaka Labour Court, which, on January 1, 2024, convicted and sentenced Yunus and three top officials of Grameen Telecom to six months\u2019 imprisonment for multiple labour law violations. On August 11, 2024, Yunus was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/south-asia\/muhammad-yunus-acquitted-in-corruption-case\/articleshow\/112449356.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">acquitted\u00a0<\/a>by a Dhaka court of a corruption case after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) withdrew its own case (filed on June 12, 2024) against Yunus for misappropriation of funds from Grameen Telecom workers. On October 24, 2024, the High Court quashed the proceedings of\u00a0five cases\u00a0against Yunus pending with the Labour Court for the dismissal of employees of Grameen Telecom. On March 17, 2025, the High Court dismissed a case filed in 2011 against Yunus and Grameen Shakti for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.daily-sun.com\/printversion\/details\/796683\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">adulteration\u00a0<\/a>in yogurt products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lucrative Business Licenses and Authorisations<\/strong>: On 20 March 2025, it was announced that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kalbela.com\/ajkerpatrika\/firstpage\/173300\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grameen Employment Services<\/a>\u00a0(owned by the Yunus Center and Grameen Education) had received the lucrative overseas employment business license. This is the only license granted since the Yunus regime came to power. Previously, on January 28, 2025,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.observerbd.com\/news\/509454\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samadhan Services Limited<\/a>, a concern of Grameen Telecom, received the sought-after approval for becoming a payment service (\u201ddigital wallet\u201d) provider, again the only such approval given in the last seven and a half months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nepotism and Favouritism in Govt Positions<\/strong>: Long-term Grameen loyalist Nurjahan Begum was appointed Health and Family Welfare Adviser in the Yunus-led Interim Govt. Another long-term Yunus associate, Lamiya Morshed (with a background in Grameen Trust, Yunus Centre and Grameen Healthcare), was appointed the principal coordinator for SDGs at the Chief Adviser\u2019s Office (a very high-ranking policy position). Despite having no background in media or public relations, Apurba Jahangir was appointed as a Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser. Why? He is the nephew of Yunus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are some, not all, of the progresses made by Yunus, his cronies, and his Grameen concerns in the last seven and a half months since his assumption of the role of the Chief Adviser. One does not need to be a legal expert to spot the visible conflicts of interest, palpable breaches of professional ethics, strong evidence of corruption, and the obvious examples of favouritism and nepotism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bangladesh Awami League termed Thursday\u2019s court verdict convicting several members of Sheikh Hasina\u2019s family in the Purbachal plot allocation case \u201cfalse, fabricated, and politically motivated.\u201d The party announced countrywide&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,20,42],"tags":[163,77,50,122,65,56,1251,283,63,64],"class_list":["post-4956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-news","category-politics","tag-anti-corruption-commission-acc","tag-awami-league","tag-interim-government","tag-international-crimes-tribunal-ict-bd","tag-mobocracy","tag-muhammad-yunus","tag-purbachal-plot","tag-sajeeb-wazed-joy","tag-sheikh-hasina","tag-yunus-gang"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4958,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions\/4958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}