Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Monday lashed out at former chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, accusing him of trying to destabilise the country and attempting to remove him from the constitutional post.
Speaking to Bengali daily Kaler Kantho, Shahabuddin revealed about an attempt to replace him with a former chief justice. However, the judge declined the offer, saying, "The President holds the highest position in the government and I can't unconstitutionally take the seat."
The president revealed that Yunus failed to brief him about his foreign trips and kept him in the dark over US-Bangladesh trade deal.
"The constitution says that whenever he goes on a foreign visit, he must meet the President after returning and inform me in writing about the discussions and outcomes. He travelled abroad 14 to 15 times but did not inform me even once," he told the daily.
Talking about the recent trade deal with the US, Shahbuddin said, "I knew nothing about it. Such a state agreement must be communicated to the President. That is a constitutional obligation. But he neither informed me verbally nor in writing."
Shahabuddin claimed that Yunus also prevented him from travelling to Kosovo and Qatar.
The president pointed out that leaders from BNP had his back when there was a call for his removal. "They had expressed their willingness to uphold the constitution all through that time. I had a lot of curiosity around BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, but with time, I got to know him as a genuine person. He was so cordial. BNP’s support was 100% there in my bad time," he said.
Shahbuddin said the chiefs of the three armed services also backed him. "They said, 'Your Excellency, you are the head of the armed forces. Your defeat means the defeat of the entire armed forces. We will prevent this at any cost'," he quoted them as saying.
