The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has come to power through a carefully orchestrated coup, says Veena Sikri, former India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh. She tells Rajesh Kumar Thakur that Bangladesh currently has no constitutionally-valid government, and adds: “The caretaker of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has steered the country towards self-destruction. All of Yunus’s decisions are effectively made by his advisor, Mahfuz Alam.”Excerpts:You had been India’s high commissioner to Dhaka. How do you perceive the interim government in Bangladesh?Democracy has been dismantled through a carefully orchestrated coup against the Sheikh Hasina government. The interim government, propelled by anti-Hasina sentiment, is driving the nation into utter chaos and violence, particularly targeting Hindus and other minorities.Muhammad Yunus operates through his advisor and special assistant, Mahfuz Alam. The interim government is taking Bangladesh on a path that echoes Pakistan’s anti-India rhetoric. Without elections, the country’s future appears bleak. There is no constitutional provision for an interim government in Bangladesh. So, I refuse to call it a legitimate government. Instead I label it a constitutionally-invalid regime.Was the coup against the Sheikh Hasina government a spontaneous reaction to student unrest, or there was something more to it?It was a meticulously planned operation. Anti-India and anti-Hasina sentiment had been nurtured for years, portraying her as an agent of Delhi. These sentiments have been leveraged to execute the coup. Yunus, who maintains close ties with Hillary and Bill Clinton, acknowledged at a public event in New York that the coup was well planned and Alam was brain behind it. Yunus called Alam on to the stage and gave him credit for the operation. Alam has close ties with banned outfits.
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