‘Not applied for political asylum anywhere’: Sheikh Hasina's son dismisses media reports of her visa revocation
Son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sajeeb Wazed Joy has expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his government's quick action following the developments in the neighbouring country which led to her departure.
Sheikh Hasina's son also dismissed media reports of a revocation of her visa stating that no one has revoked the visa of the Awami League leader and neither has she applied for political asylum anywhere.
In an exclusive interview with media sources, Wazed said "No one has revoked her visa. She has not applied for political asylum anywhere. Those are all rumors."
He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saving Sheikh Hasina's life.
"My message to the government of India, is my personal gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for his government's quick action in saving my mother's life. I am eternally grateful," he said.
"India needs to take a leadership role in the world, and not let other foreign powers dictate the situation. Because this is India's neighbourhood. This is India's eastern side," he said.
Wazed pointed out that during Hasina's regime, Bangladesh grew economically and was at peace.
"No one can deny that Sheikh Hasina's government kept peace in Bangladesh, kept economic growth, stopped insurgency and kept the eastern side of our subcontinent stable. We are the only government that has proven we can do it. Other governments have tried. They have failed," he said.
Wazed termed the new government was unconstitutional because the Bangladeshi constitution states that a non-elected government cannot remain in power.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh's interim government on August 8 and was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony in Dhaka.
"I'm actually curious to see how they will perform, and whether they are even capable of running the country. However, the point is that our Supreme Court has ruled and our Constitution says that a non-elected government cannot run a country even for one minute. Right now, this is an unconstitutional government. They are not elected. So there is no democracy in Bangladesh. They are talking about democracy, but there is no democracy...If they want to have democracy, they have to have elections," he said.
- With inputs from agencies
