New Delhi: A day after a top Bangladesh student leader indicated that the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus could be considering resigning from his post, an unscheduled meeting of the country’s advisory council was held in Dhaka Saturday to discuss the possibility of national elections and judicial reforms.
According to an official statement, released in Bangla, the meeting was held after a session of the National Economic Council and was chaired by Yunus. Restoring democratic governance was one of the core issues discussed at the meeting, according to the statement.
The advisory council expressed alarm over what it described as efforts to “sabotage the normal working environment” through “unreasonable demands, politically motivated and unauthorised statements, and programmes outside legal jurisdiction”.
The advisory council was set up to restore stability after Nobel peace laureate Yunus took over as Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by a student uprising.
The council said that the current situation in the country was “sowing confusion and mistrust” among the masses, and threatening to derail the transitional process.
The remarks came after Nahid Islam, the head of the newly formed National Citizen Party, said Yunus was finding it difficult to work without the consensus of the political parties in Bangladesh.
“Despite numerous challenges, the interim government is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities, disregarding narrow group interests. However, if these duties are deliberately obstructed, encouraged by defeated domestic forces or as part of foreign conspiracies the government will lay out all relevant causes before the public and make decisions based on national interest,” the official statement said after the council meeting.
Calling for broader national unity, it stressed that political cohesion was essential not only for ensuring free and fair elections but also for avoiding a “return to autocratic rule”.
The interim government will hear all the political issues and clear the administration’s stand on these matters, it added.
“The interim government, the council affirmed, is shaped by the public expectations that emerged from the July uprising. Nevertheless, if the government’s autonomy, reform agenda, justice initiatives, fair elections, and normal functioning continue to be hindered, it will take necessary actions with the support of the people to ensure the fulfilment of its mandate”, the government said.
The development comes amid renewed street protests, accusations of governmental overreach, and mounting frustration over the interim administration’s inability to deliver on its reform promises or hold elections.
The unrest increased after growing protests led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is demanding the immediate swearing-in of its candidate, Ishraque Hossain, as the mayor of Dhaka.
This is the first instance where the Khaleda Zia-led BNP, which was earlier in support of the Yunus administration, took to the streets to demand elections amid accusations of overreach.
The BNP accuses the Yunus-led administration of blocking an Election Commission ruling that confirmed Hossain’s victory in the disputed 2020 mayoral race. Demonstrators have also called for the resignation of key advisers in the interim administration, accusing them of partisan interference in what was supposed to be a neutral caretaker setup.
In an interview with BBC Bangla, NCP leader Islam, who was a key figure in the uprising against Hasina, said Yunus had voiced concern about the deteriorating political climate and the personal attacks directed at his government.
“Sir told me that he feels like a hostage in the current situation,” Islam was quoted as saying. “He said that if political parties fail to come together, then the very purpose of bringing him back after the mass uprising—reform and national renewal—would be lost.”
Yunus reportedly expressed his intention to address the nation on television, citing the “slanderous allegations” against his administration and his diminishing ability to operate under escalating political pressure.
Islam said he urged Yunus to reconsider, calling on all political parties to rally behind the interim leader for the sake of national unity. “If the political party BNP wants him gone, and he no longer has a place of trust or assurance, then why would he stay?” he was quoted as saying.
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