Bangladesh President's "Overthrow, Destabilise Dhaka" Charge Against Yunus

Days after the Tarique Rehman-led new government took charge of Bangladesh, the South Asian nation's president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, has accused the former chief adviser, Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, of "conspiring" to remove him from office in an unconstitutional manner. In an interview with Bangladeshi Bengali daily Kaler Kantho, Shahabuddin claimed that during Yunus's tenure, attempts were made to destabilise Bangladesh and create a constitutional vacuum.

"During those one and a half years, I have not been in any discussion, yet various conspiracies are being hatched against me. There have been many attempts to permanently destroy the peace and order of the country and create a constitutional vacuum," he said in the interview given at Bangabhaban, the President's official residence in Dhaka.

Yunus Broke 'Constitutional Obligation'

The President told Kaler Kantho that former chief adviser Yunus did not maintain constitutionally required communication with him during the interim government period, saying he was neither informed about foreign visits nor briefed on state matters, which he described as a "constitutional obligation".

"The chief adviser did not follow any provision of the constitution. Whenever he went abroad, he was supposed to meet the president after returning and inform me in writing about the outcomes. He travelled abroad 14 to 15 times, but not once did he inform me. He never came to see me," the president said.

'A Palace Prisoner'

Shahabuddin alleged that he was made a palace prisoner in the past one and a half years, and two of his planned foreign visits -- to Kosovo and Qatar -- were blocked by the Yunus administration

Responding to a question on whether the former chief advisor coordinated with the President on state decisions, including the issuance of 133 ordinances, Shahabuddin said that although some ordinances may have been necessitated by the circumstances, there was no justification for issuing such a large number.

On being asked whether he had been aware of the last agreement concluded with the United States by the interim government ahead of the elections, the President said he had no knowledge of it, and such developments should have been formally communicated to him.

"No, I do not know anything. Such a state agreement should have been informed to me. Be it small or big, of course, the previous heads of government informed the President. And this is a constitutional obligation. But he did not do it. He did not inform me verbally nor in writing. He didn't come. And he was supposed to come anyway!" the President said.

The Conspiracy Charge

Shahabuddin said that "at one point, even a conspiracy was made to bring a former chief justice and seat him in my place through unconstitutional means." But he added that a judge refused the proposal, citing constitutional constraints.

He also described the October 22, 2024, protests outside Bangabhaban as a "terrifying night", saying mobs were mobilised, and there were attempts to loot the presidential residence, which were eventually brought under control with military deployment.

Support from the Army and the BNP

Shahabuddin said the Bangladeshi Army and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leadership helped him in maintaining constitutional continuity. He said the chiefs of the three services told him clearly, "You are the supreme commander of the armed forces. Your defeat means the defeat of the entire armed forces. We will prevent that at any cost."