Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday accused the interim government’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus of being the “mastermind of mass killings” and orchestrating attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
Addressing an Awami League event in New York virtually, Hasina slammed Yunus for allegedly targeting Hindu temples, including ISKCON sites, and other religious places of the minorities in Bangladesh.
“Today, I have been accused of mass killings. In reality, it is Muhammad Yunus who is responsible for mass killings through a deliberate plan along with his student coordinators. They are the masterminds,” she asserted.
The minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, have come under severe attack by Islamist elements in Bangladesh after the formation of the interim government in the country headed by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
“Teachers and police are being attacked and murdered. Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists are being attacked. Many churches and temples are being targeted. Why are minorities being attacked?” she questioned, condemning the violence.
She also mentioned Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman’s recent remarks where he had suggested that, with continued violence, the interim government in Bangladesh would not last long.
Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam—the leaders of the so-called ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’ that led to the fall of the government headed by Hasina in August—have been spewing venom against Hindus in the country while calling for an immediate ban on ISKCON Bangladesh, accusing the spiritual organization of “inciting unrest.”
Last week, after the Bangladeshi authorities arrested and jailed Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote who is also associated with ISKCON Bangladesh, Hasina had strongly condemned the “tortures” inflicted on common people by the interim government in Bangladesh and called for the “immediate release” of the Hindu priest.
“A top leader of the Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested. He must be released immediately,” said Hasina.
The Bangladesh Awami League (AL) president and daughter of the ‘Father of the Nation,’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had also highlighted several incidents of persecution of members of minority communities that have been reported from across 52 districts in Bangladesh since her resignation on August 5 this year.
“A temple has been burnt in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, shrines, churches, monasteries, and houses of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked, vandalized, looted, and set on fire. Religious freedom and security of life and property of people of all communities should be ensured,” she stated.
“After the killing of innumerable Awami League leaders and workers, students, and members of the law and order forces, harassment is going on through assaults and arrests. I strongly condemn and protest against these anarchist activities,” Hasina added.
(Inputs from IANS)