Calls for the removal of president Mohammed Shahabuddin have emerged in Bangladesh after his remarks about the resignation of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The calls intensified on Tuesday when a student organisation that led protests against Hasina’s government staged demonstrations in Dhaka.
The Anti-discrimination Student Movement, which spearheaded the campaign that resulted in Hasina’s ouster, rallied in front of the Central Shaheed Minar, demanding Shahabuddin’s resignation.
Nasir Uddin Patwari, a protest leader said, “The president is an ally of fascism. He was in favour of genocide. We demand his resignation.”
Another group, the Shadhinota-Shorbobhoumotto Rokkha Committee, held a sit-in protest at Dhaka University, calling for Shahabuddin’s resignation, the abolition of the Constitution, and the establishment of a “revolutionary government.”
Some protesters also indicated that the president could soon face a campaign calling for his removal. They also demanded the dissolution of Hasina’s Awami League party and its allies from political activities.
A prominent leader of the group, Rafiq Khan labeled Shahabuddin a “culprit” for being “unlawfully” appointed by “killer Hasina.”
“We request him to resign immediately and vacate the Bangabhaban. Otherwise, we will start another movement like the one in July,” he added.
Shahabuddin stated that he has no documentary proof of Hasina’s resignation as prime minister, noting that she left the country in August during widespread student-led protests.
In a recent interview with the Bangla daily Manab Zamin, he mentioned he heard that Hasina had resigned before fleeing Bangladesh, but he could not verify it with any documents.
Despite multiple efforts, Shahabuddin said he was unable to locate any records. “Perhaps she did not have the time,” Shahabuddin added.
Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel laureate on August 8 assumed the role of Chief Adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government following Prime Minister Hasina’s departure to India on August 5.
According to Shahabuddin’s account to the daily, on August 5, around 10.30 am, Bangabhaban received a call from Hasina’s residence, stating that she would meet him. However, “within an hour, another call came, saying she was not coming”.
“When everything was under control, one day, the cabinet secretary came to collect a copy of the resignation letter. I told him I was also looking for it,” he said.
“There was news of unrest everywhere. I did not know what was going to happen. I could not just sit around relying on rumours. So I asked my military secretary, General Adil (Major General Mohammad Adil Choudhury), to look into it. He also had no information. We were waiting and checking the TV scrolls. There was no news anywhere. At one point, I heard that she had left the country without informing me. I am telling you the truth as it is,” he added.
“Anyway, when the army chief, General Waker, came to Bangabhaban, I tried to find out whether the prime minister had resigned. The answer was the same: he heard she had resigned but probably did not get the time to inform us.,” he added.
Prior to administering the oath of office to Yunus and his advisory council members on August 8, Shahabuddin sought the opinion of the Supreme Court, which advised him to proceed considering the extraordinary circumstances.
Earlier on Monday, Asif Nazrul, the Law Affairs Adviser of the interim government, accused the president of “falsehood” stating that his comments were “tantamount to violation of his oath of office”.
Nazrul added that if Shahabuddin maintained his stance, the interim government would have to consider whether he was still fit to hold his position.
In a televised address on August 5, Shahabuddin had said, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has tendered her resignation letter to the president and I have received it.”
Concurrently, the president’s office released a statement discouraging the public from reigniting any dispute over a “settled issue”.
“This is a clear statement from His Excellency the President that, all the answers regarding the resignation and departure of the Prime Minister (Hasina) in the face of the students-people mass revolution, the dissolution of the Parliament and all the questions raised in the public mind about the Constitutional validity about the incumbent Interim Government are reflected in the order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in Special Reference No-01/2024, dated August 8, 2024,” it said.
Shahdhin Malik, a Constitution expert, believes that an “unnecessary debate is going on over the documentary evidence of Hasina’s resignation letter amid the existing reality”.
“After the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s government, the interim government has been formed on the basis of the Supreme Court’s opinion…no debate is required about it,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed had clarified earlier that Hasina never “officially resigned” as she did not have the time to do so.
“My mother never officially resigned. She didn’t get the time,” Wazed said 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 had said.