'Indulged in mass killings through...': Sheikh Hasina attacks Muhammad Yunus amid fresh wave of unrest in Bangladesh

Deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday accused Muhammad Yunus of masterminding the mass killings and targeting of minorities, especially Hindus in the country. While addressing an Awami League event in New York virtually, she slammed Yunus, the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, for the attacks on temples, churches and the religious outfit ISKCON. 

She claimed that Yunus indulged in mass killings through a meticulous plan with student co-ordinators. Hasina's comments come amid a fresh wave of unrest in Bangladesh triggered by the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.

Hasina, who fled to India in August this year after the fall of her governnment in Bangladesh, said: "Today, I have been accused of mass killings. In reality, it is Muhammad Yunus who has indulged in mass killings through a meticulous designed plan along with student co-ordinators."

She added that her staunch opponent and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman has also said from London that the interim government won't last for long if the deaths continue. 

Moreover, she also recounted the circumstances in which she left Bangladesh for the first time. Hasina said that she did not want a massacre and there would have been one if she wanted to hold onto power.

"When people were being killed indiscriminately, I decided I shall leave, I don't need to be in power. Had security men opened fire, so many would have died at Ganabhavan. I did not want that."

She added that armed mob came to Ganabhavan and there was a plan to assassinate her just like her father and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. "It was a matter of 25-30 minutes, I left. But I told my security not to open fire," she said. 

This, however, is not the first time that Hasina has criticised the Yunus-led interim government for atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus. Last week, the deposed Bangladeshi PM condemned the interim government over Chinmoy Krishna Das' arrest. 

"If the unconstitutionally usurped Yunus government fails to punish these terrorists, it will also face punishment for human rights violations. I appeal to the people of the country to stand united against this kind of terrorism and militancy. It is important to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the common people," she said then. 

The attacks against minorities, especially Hindus rose in Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5 amid student protests.