Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India, has said she plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a later stage—after she returns to Bangladesh and the situation there becomes stable.
In an interview to a private English daily in India, Hasina said she did not leave her country by choice. She said she was compelled to depart due to security concerns and at the insistence of party functionaries and family members.
Hasina recalled that she came to know she was headed to India only while boarding a helicopter on August 5, 2024. After reaching India, she said, she was provided the necessary security and expressed gratitude, while adding that leaving her homeland was emotionally difficult.
She said she has no plan to move to any other country and intends to return to her people in Bangladesh. She added that she did not attempt to meet PM Modi during this period, and would try to meet him after going back and once conditions normalise.
Hasina also said the Bangladesh government has been pressuring India to send her back, but argued that there is no need for that as she would return on her own. She further called for restrictions on her and her party to be lifted and for political prisoners to be released, adding that neither the government nor the BNP can decide who should lead the Awami League, and that she is willing to step down as party chief if her party wishes.
