New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, speaking from exile in India, called the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus a “murderous fascist” regime and urged for a United Nations investigation into events of last year, in a rare public appearance alongside senior leaders of her banned Awami League party.The remarks were delivered via audio link at a media interaction at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi on Friday (January 23). It was the first time since Hasina’s ouster in August 2024 that so many senior leaders of the Awami League appeared together publicly with the former prime minister. The party was barred from political activity following her removal, and most of the leaders had fled into exile.In November, a domestic special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death for “crimes against humanity” during the July uprising. The Bangladesh interim government had reiterated demand for extradition of Hasina, but India hasn’t responded it.Hasina has previously addressed party workers through recorded messages and social media posts. Thursday’s appearance marked her first live public media remarks since going into exile.“The murderous fascist Yunus, a money launderer, a plunderer, a corrupt power-hungry traitor, has bled our nation dry with his all-consuming perditions, staining the soul of our motherland,” Hasina said in her address. “Bangladesh stands today at the edge of an abyss, a nation battered and bleeding. The entire country has become a vast prison, an execution ground, a valley of death.”The appearance comes amid escalating tensions between India and Bangladesh, with Dhaka repeatedly protesting Hasina’s political statements while in Indian exile. The diplomatic friction has intensified in recent months, with both countries summoning each other’s high commissioners and a cricket controversy adding to bilateral strains.In her remarks, Hasina outlined what she called essential steps to restore democracy. She demanded the removal of the Yunus administration, an end to street violence, guarantees of safety for minorities and women, an end to politically motivated prosecutions, and a “new and truly impartial” investigation by United Nations into the past year’s events.“We need the purification of truth in order to reconcile, heal, and move on as countrymen rejecting the selfish pursuit of vengeance,” she stated.The Awami League, which ruled Bangladesh for 15 years until August 2024, has been barred from the upcoming polls. Party representatives at the event confirmed they are calling for a complete boycott.Campaigning for the February 12 election began in Bangladesh on Thursday, with all the major political parties in the fray holding rallies.“Our position is absolutely clear,” said Mohammad Ali Arafat, speaking via video link. “We have made a very clear appeal not only to the voters and supporters of Awami League, but also to all the voters of the country to boycott this election.”Arafat served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Hasina’s government. He added that the party had been “forcefully banned and excluded from this process.”During its 15 years in power, Hasina’s government faced criticism for democratic backsliding. The 2014 and 2024 general elections were both boycotted by major opposition parties, who alleged the polls would not be free or fair.When pressed by journalists about the party’s plans following what they expect to be a low-turnout election, the responses were less definitive.Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, who served as education minister and MP from Chittagong under Hasina, suggested the party was waiting for conditions to change. “We are waiting for the time when the army will not be there pursuing our activists,” he said. “It is a political strategy.”Nowfel emphasised the party’s historical resilience. “After 1975, for a long period of time, our party was banned. But we were able to reorganise and take part in political activism, and with people’s mandate to go to power.”He offered few specifics about how the party would mobilise with most senior leaders either in exile or imprisoned. “Majority of our public representatives, MPs, local government officials, elected officials, they’re in prison,” Nowfel acknowledged.The party leaders claimed they retain substantial popular support. “From the surveys and the feedbacks we are getting from the people of Bangladesh, they want Sheikh Hasina back,” Nowfel said, though he provided no independent verification of these claims.Asked about expectations from the Indian government, Arafat said the party wanted “democracy to return in Bangladesh.” He described the Awami League as “the only liberal secular force” and “the only barrier and deterrent to the rise of radical Islamism in Bangladesh.”The panelists claimed that there had been large scale human rights violations since August 2024, though the figures could not be independently verified. They alleged 637 people killed in mob lynching, 359,000 arrests predominantly of Awami League members, and 537 party leaders and activists murdered.Former Awami League lawmaker M. Habibe Millat detailed alleged persecution of minorities and attacks on religious sites. During the question and answer, a reporter described meeting young protesters in Chittagong, some under 18, who were “permanently disabled” or “blinded” and identified their assailants as police or members of Chhatra League, the student wing of Awami League.“It’s not a laughing matter,” Nowfel responded. “We have demanded thorough investigation for these events. We have not ever said that if any of our activities are responsible, we will exempt them from prosecution.”