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Hasina says 2024 protests weaponised to topple her government
For many years, a woman named Sheikh Hasina led the country of Bangladesh.
In 2024, students protested because they wanted changes to how government jobs were given out.
The protests grew very big, and Sheikh Hasina had to leave Bangladesh and go to India.
For a long time, she stayed quiet.
Now she talked to reporters on a video call from India for the first time.
She said the protests were not just peaceful students asking for fair jobs.
She thinks organised groups used the students to force her out of power.
She also said many people from her own party were hurt, arrested, or went missing after she left.
India said it had nothing to do with her speech, and Bangladesh has since chosen a new leader in new elections.
People still disagree about what really happened in 2024.
Sheikh Hasina, in her first press conference since fleeing to India in August 2024, alleged the July-August 2024 unrest was an organised campaign weaponised to topple her government.
She said her government tried dialogue, legal measures and patience, but 'organised groups' turned the quota reform movement into a one-point demand for her resignation.
Hasina claimed Awami League leaders and workers faced systematic persecution after her ouster, with thousands killed, disappeared or arrested and hundreds of thousands named in criminal cases.
India distanced itself from the event, with MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying the government has 'no involvement' and does not endorse any views; Dhaka raised concerns with High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi.
Bangladesh's February 2026 elections were won by the BNP under Tarique Rahman, who has been invited to India's BRICS summit in September, while the Awami League was barred from contesting.
- Who
- Sheikh Hasina, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, speaking from exile in India; also involving the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman, and the Indian government.
- What
- Hasina's first media address since her August 2024 ouster, in which she alleged the 2024 protests were a 'violent political instrument' weaponised by organised groups to remove her from power.
- Where
- New Delhi, India, at a virtual press conference organised in the national capital; the events concern Bangladesh.
- When
- Wednesday, regarding the July-August 2024 unrest that escalated from July 15, 2024; Hasina was ousted on August 5, 2024, and Bangladesh held elections in February 2026.
- Why
- Hasina sought to present her account of the 2024 protests as a regime-change plot and to highlight alleged persecution of her party, while India and Bangladesh addressed the diplomatic implications of her address.
Sheikh Hasina / Awami League account
Bangladesh authorities' account
Nature of the 2024 protests
Sheikh Hasina / Awami League account
The unrest was not a peaceful student movement but an organised campaign that weaponised quota reform protests into a violent political instrument aimed at regime change, with the movement turned into a one-point demand for Hasina's resignation.
Bangladesh authorities' account
Dhaka authorities have consistently rejected Hasina's allegations of political persecution and treat the protest movement as a genuine student-led movement; the Awami League was barred from the February 2026 elections.
Post-ouster crackdown
Sheikh Hasina / Awami League account
After her removal, Awami League leaders and workers faced systematic political persecution, with thousands killed, disappeared or arrested and hundreds of thousands named in criminal cases; the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus halted her government's judicial inquiry into the violence.
Bangladesh authorities' account
Bangladesh authorities have consistently rejected Hasina's allegations of political persecution.
India-Bangladesh ties over Hasina's speech
Sheikh Hasina / Awami League account
Hasina was able to address her first press conference in Delhi since her ouster, presenting her version of events from India.
Bangladesh authorities' account
Dhaka is concerned that a political speech from Indian soil could further strain fragile bilateral ties and raised the matter with Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi; India says it has no involvement in and does not endorse the event.
Key facts
- Former Bangladesh PM
- Sheikh Hasina
- Event
- First press conference since her August 2024 ouster
- Location
- New Delhi, India (virtual, Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia)
- Date of ouster
- August 5, 2024
- Length of tenure
- 15 years
- Protests covered
- July-August 2024 unrest, escalating from July 15, 2024
- February 2026 election winner
- Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman
- India's position
- No involvement; does not endorse any views expressed at the forum
Quotes
Sheikh Hasina
Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh
“"Let me begin with the truth about July and August 2024. It was not a peaceful student movement. From the beginning, my government tried to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue, legal process, and patience. But behind the language of reform, organised groups were working to turn students demand into a violent political instrument."”
livemint.com
Sources
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