Rumeen Farhana, lawmaker for Brahmanbaria-2, has said ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina is continuously making her presence felt through various media without being physically present in the country.
Speaking during fourth session of the Parliament on Sunday, she said ministers, state ministers, and advisers of the government are giving conflicting statements regarding Hasina’s return and her passport, with no consistency among their views.
Drawing a comparison with a famous line from Bengali literature – “Kadambari proved by dying that she had not died” – Farhana observed that Hasina is similarly demonstrating her presence from abroad, citing the most recent events in Gopalganj as the latest example.
She pointed out that what government ministers, state ministers, and advisers have said in recent days about her return shows no alignment.
Detailing the discrepancies, Farhana added that Zahed Ur Rahman, information and broadcasting adviser to the prime minister, said on 9 November that whether Hasina returns on her own or is brought back, the government’s objective is singular – it does not wish to prevent her return.
He added that even if sentenced to death, Sheikh Hasina remains a citizen of Bangladesh and called for the restriction on her passport to be lifted.
In contrast, Humaiun Kobir, state minister for foreign affairs, had said a few days earlier that no passport or travel pass would be issued to Hasina.
On 9 November, he declared that Bangladesh would not grant a passport to any terrorist and that there was no plan to issue a new passport or National Identity Card (NID), while also dismissing the application as ridiculous.
In another comment, he mentioned returning her under an extradition treaty.
Citing the home minister’s comments, Farhana said that on 9 November, regarding the application for a passport and NID, the home minister acknowledged he had not yet verified its authenticity.
The home minister explained that the foreign ministry or law ministry would take appropriate steps upon reviewing the legal basis of the application, while also mentioning that a letter would be sent to India through the foreign ministry under the extradition treaty.
Meanwhile, Md Asaduzzaman, law minister, said on 8 and 14 November that the government is engaged in legal procedures and has completed all legal formalities to return Hasina, leaving the remaining decision to India.
He also commented that Sheikh Hasina has no scope to appeal against her death penalty.
Summarising the contradictions, Farhana highlighted that while the adviser favours lifting the passport ban, the state minister for foreign affairs explicitly rules out issuing a passport, and the home minister maintains the application has not been verified, even as the state minister for foreign affairs rejected the application as ridiculous on the very same day.
As she was continuing her speech to point out the lack of co-ordination among various levels of the government, her microphone was switched off when her allocated two-minute time limit expired.
