Dhaka, Aug 10 (UNI) Sheikh Hasina did not officially resign as prime minister of Bangladesh before fleeing the country on August 5 amid massive anti-government protests, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told Reuters on Saturday.
“My mother never officially resigned. She didn’t get the time,” Sajeeb Wazed Joy told Reuters from Washington.
“She had planned to make a statement and submit her resignation. But then the protesters started marching on the prime minister’s residence. And there was no time. My mother wasn’t even packed. As far as the constitution goes, she is still the prime minister of Bangladesh,” he said.
Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5 following massive anti-government protests triggered by the deaths of over 200 people in clashes with law enforcement agencies. The protests that initially started last month against a quota in government jobs morphed into a movement to oust the PM. Hasina is living in New Delhi at a safe house since her arrival in India.
In Dhaka, an interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Prof Mohd Yunus was sworn in on Thursday, under the army’s control.
Hasina’s son said though the Bangladesh president had dissolved parliament after consulting with military chiefs and opposition politicians, the formation of a caretaker government without the prime minister having actually formally resigned “can be challenged in court”.
He said Hasina’s Awami League party would contest the next election, which he said must be held within three months.
“I’m confident the Awami League will come to power. If not, we will be the opposition. Either way is fine,” he said.
Asked whether he would be the Awami League’s prime ministerial candidate, he said: “My mother was going to retire after this term anyway. If the party wants me to, maybe. I will definitely consider it.”
He said his mother was ready to face trial back home, as demanded by students who led the uprising.
“The threat of arrest has never scared my mother before,” he said. “My mother has done nothing wrong. Just because people in her government did illegal things, did not mean my mother ordered it. That does not mean my mother is responsible for that.”
He did not say who in the government was responsible for allowing the shooting of people during the protests.
“A government is a big, big machinery,” Joy said. “Those who are responsible, they should be brought to justice. My mother absolutely did not order anyone to commit violence against the protesters. The police were trying to stop the violence, but some police officers used excessive force.”
“We suspended the police officers that shot at students. We did everything we could.”
He said he would return home when he liked.
“I have never done anything illegal. So, how is anyone going to stop me?” he said. “The political parties are not going anywhere. You cannot wipe us out. Without our help, without our supporters, you are not going to be able to bring stability to Bangladesh.”
UNI RN