Hundreds of Awami League activists staged protests in support of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the Bangladeshi cities of Gopalganj and Bagerhat, demanding that their party leader be “brought back to the country with dignity.”
Hasina’s supporters carried sticks, hockey sticks and sharp-edged weapons during the protests, according to BBC Bangla. Gopalganj is the ancestral home of Sheikh Hasina.
It should be noted that after weeks of violent protests in Bangladesh, on August 5, Sheikh Hasina resigned as PM and left for India. But her son has denied such reports, saying that his mother has not signed any such document and would return to the country for elections.
Hasina, who is 76 years old, fled to neighbouring India on Monday after weeks of deadly protests forced her to resign as prime minister.
A caretaker government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on Thursday and will be tasked with organizing the elections.
Protesters affiliated with the Awami League in Gopalganj claimed that “our leader was forced to leave the country through a conspiracy.”
The party’s supporters also set an army vehicle on fire, the news outlet reported. Several people were injured in the incident.
Rallies in support of Sheikh Hasina have been taking place in Gopalganj for the past three days, according to reports.
Shahab Uddin Azam, the general secretary of the Awami League in Gopalganj, stated: “We will not return to our homes until Sheikh Hasina is brought back to the country with dignity.”
Meanwhile, in Barguna, around 350 Awami League activists also took out a protest march.
Addressing the march, local Awami League leader Jahangir Kabir said: “The Awami League is not sitting at home, the Awami League is the party of the people. The real strength of the Awami League is not the military.”
Other local party leaders have stated that Sheikh Hasina has not fled the country, but has been forced to remain outside due to the circumstances.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh’s chief justice and central bank governor resigned, officials said on Saturday.
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Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned, the law ministry’s adviser Asif Nazrul said in a Facebook video post, after students warned him of “dire consequences” if he did not.
Nazrul, an adviser in the new caretaker government, urged protesters to remain peaceful. “Don’t damage any public property,” he said in the post.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has also resigned but his resignation has not been accepted given the importance of the position, finance ministry adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters.
