Yunus says Bangladesh has problems with India over hosting Hasina

Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has alleged that the ties between his country and India have become strained as New Delhi did not like the students’ protest that ousted the Sheikh Hasina government. The Nobel laureate said that it was because of this reason that Bangladesh has problems with India, adding that there is a lot of tension between the two neighbouring countries because India is currently hosting Hasina.

‘India hosting Hasina’

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Yunus said that Hasina was responsible for all the problems as she killed young people during her tenure.

“We have problems with India right now because they don’t like what the students have done. They are hosting Hasina, the former Prime Minister, who created all these problems by killing the young people, and that creates a lot of tension between India and Bangladesh,” said Yunus.

Without directly mentioning Indian media, Yunus accused it of resorting to spreading “fake news” and “propaganda”, adding that even he had been labelled as a “Taliban”.

“Also fake news coming from the other side, making all kinds of propaganda. They even said I am a Taliban too. They are going for this propaganda all the time,” said Yunus.

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‘SAARC a close family’

However, the Bangladesh Chief Advisor also said that his country has made it clear that this was not necessary, describing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a very close family.

“This is the real thing. We said, 'Look, we don’t have to do this.' We, as SAARC, are very close family members. The whole idea of SAARC was born in Bangladesh,” he said.

“You have to go through Bangladesh and invest in Bangladesh. Bangladesh will invest in your territory. That’s the whole idea of SAARC. So if you can do the whole SAARC, then we can have a mini SAARC in a business deal, not political or a formal treaty,” he added.

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On Nepal and regional economy

Yunus said that Nepal, being landlocked, also needs access to the ocean supply of goods and services.

“Nepal also needs access to the ocean for the supply of goods and services, and in the process, all of us benefit from that. First, we think about the regional economy. So this is what we should be doing.” He added.

Sheikh Hasina, on August 5 last year, fled from Bangladesh following a violent student-led agitation and has been reportedly living in self-exile in Delhi. According to a report in Hindustan Times, India is yet to respond to Bangladesh’s extradition request for Hasina.