Stop playing the 'Hasina card': Home Minister tells India

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has urged India not to allow Sheikh Hasina to use Indian soil for anti-Bangladesh political activities if it wants to maintain friendly relations with Bangladesh, calling on the Indian government to stop playing the 'Hasina card'. He also called for preserving the national unity forged during the July 2024 mass uprising to prevent the resurgence of fascism.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at a discussion meeting organised by Dhaka University's Shada Dal and the University Teachers Association of Bangladesh (UTAB) to mark the second anniversary of the July mass uprising at the Nawab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban auditorium on Saturday, August 8.

The Home Minister said, "On one hand, convicted and fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina will be allowed to engage in anti-Bangladesh statements and political activities from Indian soil, while on the other, India will seek friendly relations with Bangladesh — these two positions are completely contradictory." He said the relationship between Bangladesh and India should be based on mutual dignity, respect and sovereign equality, and expressed hope that India would stop playing the 'Hasina card'.

Referring to the July mass uprising as not the achievement of any single party or group, the Home Minister said the change came through a 17-year-long democratic struggle and the sacrifice of countless people. He said, "This victory, earned through the blood of hundreds of thousands of martyrs, cannot be used as a tool to sell the consciousness of any single group." He stressed the need to maintain democratic practice and political tolerance to prevent the resurgence of fascism, while completing the unfinished work of democratic reform of the state structure.

The Home Minister said the interim government formed on August 8, 2024, under Article 106 of the Constitution, was the result of the long-cherished aspirations of the country's democracy-loving people. He commented that the Sheikh Hasina government fell through the student-people's mass uprising against long-standing "oppression, torture, disappearances, killings and deprivation of voting rights." Salahuddin Ahmed said, "The politics of Awami League and Sheikh Hasina has died in Dhaka and been buried in Delhi. The people of Bangladesh can no longer be misled by the politics of selling consciousness."

Referring to future reforms and constitutional amendments, the Home Minister said necessary safeguards would be ensured to prevent any elected government from becoming autocratic, including a provision limiting the prime minister's tenure to a maximum of two terms and ensuring effective 'check and balance' between the upper and lower houses of parliament.

Addressing students and the youth, the Home Minister said provocative statements should not be made under the guise of political immaturity. He claimed attempts are being made to "trap" students from BUET and various other institutions, urging them to maintain patience and tolerance and to protest through democratic means.

The event was presided over by Dhaka University Shada Dal convener and UTAB Secretary General Professor Dr Md Morshed Hasan Khan. Special guests were the Prime Minister's Political Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr A B M Obaidul Islam.

Family members of those martyred in the July mass uprising spoke on behalf of the families, including Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdha, brother of Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mughdho; Shafiul Alam, father of Wasim Akram; Md Abu Hossain, brother of Abu Sayeed; and Nazma Khatun Lipi, mother of Ekramul Haque Sajid. Memorial souvenirs were handed over to them, and the Home Minister later visited a special photo exhibition on the mass uprising.