Top Indian security experts see Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, who is likely to take over as the chief adviser to the interim government, as America's man in Dhaka. "The Americans have got their man in office. Regime change operations successful," Sushant Sareen said while reacting to a report that said Yunus will be the chief advisor.
In a post, author Sandip Ghosh said that Yunus' likely appointment was part of the script or tool-kit. "No prizes for guessing whose choice is Mohammed Yunus - the original deep-state asset. No wonder his name was being suggested from the minute Sheikh Hasina resigned. But can he buy BNP respectability?" he asked.
Vijay Patel, an activist, said that Muhammad Yunus was one of the main masterminds behind the Bangladesh regime change. He said Yunus is the winner of the famous Ramon Magsaysay Award, which is funded by the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. "He becomes an advisor to the new Bangladeshi government."
However, Kaushik Basu, former chief economic advisor, endorsed the student body's decision to make Mohammad Yunus as chief advisor. He said Yunus has three qualities critical for a leader in a modern democracy — "he is not vindictive, he will not cling to power when the time comes to leave office, and finally, he is inclusive & secular."
While trouble in Bangladesh started with student protests, experts believe the involvement of foreign forces like Pakistan's ISI and China. It has also emerged that the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, was the main architect of the student protests and subsequent chaos in Bangladesh.
India Today, citing intelligence reports, reported that the blueprint for operation regime change was drafted in London in collaboration with ISI and implemented in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi officials claim that they have evidence of meetings between BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman and ISI officials in Saudi Arabia. Bangladeshi authorities also had evidence of Tarique Rahman's collusion and meeting with ISI operatives.
The coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced on Tuesday that Yunus will be the chief adviser to the interim government in Bangladesh. In a video posted on social media, Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the movement, said that Prof Yunus has agreed to take on this crucial responsibility at the call of the student community to save the country.
"We took 24 hours to announce a framework for the interim government. However, considering the emergency situation, we are announcing it now," Nahid said. "We have decided that the interim government would be formed in which internationally renowned Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus, who has wide acceptability, would be the chief adviser," said Nahid.
Meanwhile, President Mohammed Shahabuddin has dissolved the parliament, and the process to form an interim government is still underway. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was under house arrest after being convicted in several cases, has also been released.
Nahid urged the president to take steps as soon as possible to form an interim government headed by Dr Yunus.
Bangladesh descended into chaos on Monday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country in a military aircraft while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum. As the news of Hasina's departure spread, hundreds of people broke into her official residence, vandalising and looting the interiors.
Hasina's residence Sudha Sadan and other establishments were attacked, vandalised, and set on fire in the capital after her departure. The residences and business establishments of ministers, party MPs, and leaders of Hasina's Awami League government were also attacked in Dhaka and outside Dhaka.
(With inputs from PTI)