Azaduzzaman Khan Kamal, a veteran leader of the Bangladesh Awami League, had some really strong words for Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh.
Kamal said in a recent interaction that Yunus has no real authority to sit on the chair and that he is not a political figure. He also had some advise for the Nobel Laureate as Bangladesh continues to roil under turmoil.
Bangladesh has been in the throes of uncertainty ever since the Awami League government was toppled after the mass uprising, prompting Sheikh Hasina to flee the country on August 5 last year.
"He has no authority to sit on the chair, he is not a leader, not a political figure. A very strange thing has happened to our country. Bangladesh has become a strange example. Yunus should leave his position and ask all political parties, including the Awami League, to fight elections and restore democracy. That is the only way out," Kamal said in an interaction with The Indian Express.
His comments came after a top adviser of Yunus' interim government said that the Awami League would not be allowed to participate in elections. Mahfuz Alam, a top leader of the Anti-Discrimination Movement, said: "The elections will be contested among pro-Bangladesh groups only."
According to Alam, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islam, and other "pro-Bangladesh" groups will be allowed to carry out politics in the country.
He also said either of these "will establish future governance through a fair electoral process" but Awami League's rehabilitation would not be allowed.
Alam also said that elections would not take place in Bangladesh until and unless "minimum reformers" were implemented and institutions destroyed by the "fascist" Awami League government were restructured.
Moreover, the veteran Awami League leader also shared details of his recent phone conversation with Sheikh Hasina. Kamal said that he spoke to the deposed former Bangladeshi Prime Minister around 3 days ago.
"Her message is: you ask all the leaders to stay united and that we will definitely overcome the situation in a very short time."