Ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina launched a scathing attack on interim leader Muhammad Yunus, saying he is involved in ‘genocide’ and killing of minorities including Hindus.
Hasina, who is currently in India after being dethroned by a massive nation-wide anti-government protests, was virtually addressing an event in New York. It was her first public address after her resignation in August.
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The Awami League supremo alleged that there were plans to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana just like their father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was murdered in 1975.
Referring to the storming of her official residence in Dhaka on August 5, Hasina said: "The armed protesters were directed towards Ganabhaban. If the security guards opened fire, many lives would have been lost. It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, and I was forced to leave. I told them [guards] not to fire no matter what happened”.
"Today, I am being accused of genocide. In reality, Yunus has been involved in genocide in a meticulously designed manner. The masterminds—the student coordinators and Yunus—are behind this genocide," she said.
In a veiled reference to the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, Hasina said the current government has failed to protect the minorities in the country.
"Hindus, Buddhists, Christians -- no one has been spared. Eleven churches have been razed, temples and Buddhist shrines have been broken. When the Hindus protested, the Iskcon leader was arrested," she said.
Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on Hindu temples and shrines over the last one week, after the arrest of Krishna Das on sedition charges. India has expressed concerns over the incidents, and urged Dhaka to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities.
