Bangladesh President alleges attempts by interim govt to overthrow him, says ‘Yunus violated constitutional protocol’
Shahabuddin expressed feeling humiliated by the interim government, citing the removal of his press department and portraits from Bangladeshi embassies worldwide.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin alleged that his foreign engagements were blocked without consultation and Yunus tried to keep him away from public eye.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has accused former chief adviser Muhammad Yunus of undermining the presidency and breaching constitutional protocol by not keeping him informed about key state decisions.
In an interview with Bengali daily Kaler Kantho, Shahabuddin claimed that Yunus did not inform him about his foreign visits, agreements, and attempted to isolate him politically and administratively.
“The constitution says that whenever he goes on a foreign visit, he must meet the President after returning and inform me in writing about the discussions and outcomes. He travelled abroad 14 to 15 times but did not inform me even once,” he said in the interview.
Shahabuddin expressed feeling humiliated by the interim government, citing the removal of his press department and portraits from Bangladeshi embassies worldwide.
He further said that he was unaware of the latest tariff deal between Bangladesh and the United States, and Yunus neither informed him verbally nor in writing.
“I knew nothing about it. Such a state agreement must be communicated to the President. That is a constitutional obligation. But he neither informed me verbally nor in writing,” Shahabuddin said.
He rued that even though the interim government took shape under his initiative, the chief adviser did not coordinate with him in the days ahead.
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“There were attempts to remove me from the presidential post under pressure from certain leaders of the mass uprising,” he said, stating that the BNP leadership stood firm beside him in those tough days.
“They had expressed their willingness to uphold the constitution all through that time. I had a lot of curiosity around BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, but with time, got to know him as a genuine person. He was so cordial. BNP’s support was 100% there in my bad time,” he said.
Shahabuddin also alleged that the interim government attempted to appoint a former chief justice as the President of Bangladesh. “I got to know that an advisor of the interim government met the ex-chief justice, held discussions. The person, however, refused to take up the role, saying ‘The President holds the highest position in the government and I can’t take that seat in an unconstitutional way’.”
‘Foreign engagements were blocked without consultation,’ says Shahabuddin
The Bangladeshi President alleged that his foreign engagements were blocked without consultation and Yunus tried to keep him away from public eye.
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He claimed that he was even asked to sign a letter drafted by the government on his behalf, refusing an invitation to Qatar.
“However, I sent a counter-letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs questioning the move. In it, I strongly condemned such unethical behaviour of the Ministry. I even wrote to the Foreign Affairs Advisor to ensure that such things do not happen in the future. But, they never responded to this.”
He said that despite the tense situation, he decided to remain in office to “maintain constitutional continuity”.
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