- By Shubham Bajpai
- Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Hasina claims unrest was political campaign, not student movement.
- Alleged uprising was meticulously designed for regime change.
- Muhammad Yunus admitted protests were organized movement.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday made her first address after nearly two years of July-August unrest that led to her ouster. In her speech, she alleged that the uprising against her was not a peaceful students' movement but a political campaign aimed at changing the regime.
Addressing a private event organised by the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia, the former Bangladesh PM said she attempted to enter negotiations and resolve the quota reform protests through dialogue and legal processes.
She added that she even invited students to the Prime Minister's residence and held talks through ministers.
"For the last two years, I watched my beloved Bangladesh suffer...This is not the Bangladesh we built; this is not the Bangladesh for which 3 million people sacrificed their lives in 1971. Let me begin with the truth about July and August 2024. It was not a peaceful student movement. From the beginning, my government tried to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue, legal process, and patience. But behind the language of reform, organised groups were working to turn students' demands into a violent political instrument," she said.
She added that Muhammad Yunus, the former interim chief advisor of Bangladesh, himself admitted that the protests were a meticulously designed movement, led by a mastermind.
"His own words expose the truth. It was not simply a spontaneous student protest. There was no visible or responsible leadership; instructions were given invisibly; it was organised, directed and used to create a path to power outside the ballot box," she added.
Speaking about her return to Bangladesh, Hasina said that she couldn't remain away when her people and supporters face difficulties.
"Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering… I want to go back in December," she said.
She added, "They may kill me, put me in jail… I know I may get detained, I may be sent to prison, they may try to force politically motivated fabricated cases, but fear cannot decide my duty to the people. My life went beyond calculations of personal safety long ago".