Sheikh Hasina is trying to provoke armed rebellion, says BNP

File photo of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina | Photo credit: AP

NEW DELHI

Several audio recordings of alleged conversations between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sacked and members of her party, the Awami Leaguehave sparked controversy in Bangladesh, with her opponents accusing her of trying to incite violence as the caretaker government plans the next election cycle. In the latest audio clip that went viral on Sunday, former prime minister Hasina can be heard saying that those who targeted her party members would face consequences.

Although reports of former prime minister Hasina’s phone calls began circulating soon after she was forced to leave Dhaka on August 5 by helicopter, the issue gained attention in September when a conversation between her and a supporter of Awami League in the US was widely shared. . In the conversation, she had said, “I’m nearby. I can come back quickly if necessary.” In the latest conversation, Sheikh Hasina can be heard saying, “You should make a list of those who are attacking our people. No one will be spared. I can come back at any time.”

The conversations were initially dismissed as AI-generated, but later began to be taken seriously after Jehangir Kabir, the Barguna district general secretary of the Awami League, was arrested by the police for conspiring with Hasina, who is currently wanted in multiple cases related to student riots in Bangladesh.

Incitement to violence

Hasina’s conversations with her party colleagues were picked up by Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders, who said she was trying to incite violence from the outside. “An audio of Sheikh Hasina’s conversation was released on Sunday in which she instructs Jubo League and Chhatra League to prepare for armed resistance. It means he is issuing threats of bloodshed,” BNP joint general secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday.

The controversy has accentuated the political divide in Dhaka. The caretaker government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, last week. After the banning of the Chhatra League, the conversation in Dhaka now turned to banning the Awami League itself so that it could be prevented from contesting the next elections.

Bangladesh’s interim government has made it clear that it will initiate political and economic reforms before the next election is announced. The attitude of the caretaker government towards the Awami League and its participation in the electoral process are matters that are currently being discussed in the ruling circles of Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, the government’s legal adviser Asif Nazrul announced that the process of setting up the election commission in Bangladesh has started and the country will hold elections soon. He indicated, however, that the interim government will revise the electoral list before the vote. “The people of the county had no interest in the electoral roll because the previous elections were fake. This time, we will hold a free and fair extraordinary election,” Asif Nazrul said in response to questions from media in Dhaka.