In a dramatic Facebook post late Thursday night, Hasnat Abdullah, a prominent leader of the uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina, accused India of orchestrating a plan to rehabilitate the Awami League (AL) in Bangladeshi politics.
Abdullah, who is currently the chief organiser for the National Citizen Party (NCP) in the southern region, revealed details of a secret meeting held at the Cantonment on March 11, where he and two other NCP members were presented with a proposal to reinstate the AL in exchange for a seat-sharing agreement in the upcoming elections.
Abdullah’s post claimed that multiple political parties had been offered similar proposals and, under certain conditions, had agreed to the return of the AL. The rationale, according to the meeting’s participants, was that having a weakened Awami League alongside multiple opposition parties would benefit the political landscape. This proposal, Abdullah noted, seemed to be backed by India.
According to Abdullah, the plan included figures like former MP Saber Hossain Chowdhury, ex-speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, and former Dhaka South mayor Fazle Noor Taposh as potential faces of a ‘Refined Awami League’. The strategy, he claimed, was for this new version of the Awami League to publicly acknowledge the crimes of the Sheikh family, distance itself from Sheikh Hasina, and promise a return to the principles of the Awami League founded by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Abdullah and his colleagues rejected the proposal, emphasizing that instead of rehabilitating the Awami League, efforts should be focused on holding them accountable for past actions. He recounted a heated exchange during the meeting, where those pushing the proposal argued that without the Awami League, an inclusive election would be impossible. Abdullah, however, remained firm, saying that any attempt to bring the Awami League back to power would result in a national crisis, for which those behind the plan would be responsible.
The post sparked an immediate reaction, with students at Dhaka University staging protests early Friday morning, calling for the banning of the Awami League. They vowed to continue their demonstrations at the Raju Sculpture later in the day.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman also weighed in on the controversy, releasing a statement via his verified Facebook account, supporting Abdullah’s stance. While not explicitly calling for the AL’s ban, Rahman stressed the importance of bringing the party to justice and uniting all factions in this cause.
The dramatic post and the ensuing protests indicate growing political tensions, as Abdullah’s call for rejecting the rehabilitation of the Awami League gains traction among certain groups.
