Sheikh Hasina calls Muhammad Yunus ‘frontman for extremists’ fooling western powers

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched a sharp critique of the country’s current interim Chief Adviser, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, asserting that his international reputation as an economist has mistakenly been taken for democratic legitimacy.In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18’s Manoj Gupta, Hasina said that the international community’s “illusion is fading”, and they are beginning to see Yunus as “an unelected head of state” whose administration is dismantling the constitution and failing to protect minorities.

Hasina levelled serious accusations against the interim administration, stating that Yunus is being used as a “front man by the extremists in his administration” who are pursuing a “sectarian, score-settling, and socially regressive domestic agenda”. She alleged that his cabinet includes radical extremists, leading to an environment where minorities are being oppressed.

The former Prime Minister further challenged Yunus’s democratic credentials, noting his lack of an electoral mandate and his administration’s decision to bar the Awami League—a party she stated is “supported by millions and which has been elected nine times in the past”—from the upcoming election.Read more: President Trump signs government funding bill, ending shutdown after a record 43-day disruption for country

“He is not a symbol of democratic regime change, nor does he command any broad support. He is an unelected figure who is now seeking to bar from the election a party that is supported by millions,” Hasina stated.

The statement concludes with a strong warning to Western admirers: “If Westerners think Yunus is a friendly face, they are being fooled.” Hasina insists that the technocratic image cultivated by the Nobel laureate’s former work should not be mistaken for political legitimacy or control over the current administration’s direction.