Asked PM Modi to stop Sheikh Hasina from making political statements, but…: Yunus

Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said he reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to stop ousted former Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina from making political statements, but his request was brushed aside. He said the said speeches of Hasina are provoking anger within the people of Bangladesh.

Speaking at the Chatham House in London, Yunus recalled the interaction with PM Modi. He said, "When I had the chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I simply said you want to host her, I cannot force you to abandon that policy, but please help us in making sure that she doesn’t speak to Bangladeshi people the way she’s doing. She announces that she will speak at such and such a day at such and such an hour, and the whole Bangladesh gets very angry.  Why is she keeping this whole anger thing inside?”

Yunus said in the discussion that PM Modi responded to him by saying “it’s social media, you cannot control it”. 

“What can you say? It’s an explosive situation, you can’t just walk away saying it’s social media,” he said referring to PM Modi’s response. 

He said that India was not doing what Bangladesh had expected. Yunus, however, confirmed that Dhaka had written to New Delhi requesting Hasina’s extradition and that legal proceedings are also underway. He said Bangladesh wants to ensure they follow the proper legal process and “doesn’t do something out of anger”. 

The interim chief of the nation also clarified that Bangladesh wants a strong bilateral relationship with India, but added that misinformation had spread through Indian media with suspected links to top policymakers. "We want to build the best relationship with India, they’re our neighbour.  We don’t want to have a basic problem with them. But somehow things go wrong every time because of all the fake news that is coming from the Indian press and some, many people have connections with policymakers at the top," he said.

Yunus took over after Hasina was ousted in August 2024. The former prime minister fled her country and took refuge in India, which has heightened tensions between India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has accused New Delhi of meddling in their internal affairs. Hasina’s party, Awami League, was officially banned in May 2025.