President Md Shahabuddin has dismissed as “completely baseless, false, and devoid of reality” recent news reports claiming he was leading a luxurious life during his medical trip to the United Kingdom.
In a written statement to TIMES of Bangladesh, the president, who is now returning home, responded to allegations that he stayed at expensive hotels and went shopping at public expense.
The president said that, as part of the government’s austerity measures, the minimum possible number of security personnel and Bangabhaban officials are accompanying him on the trip.
“The number of companions mentioned in the report is not correct at all,” he wrote.
He also clarified that expenses for two of the five family members, including himself, have been borne personally.
“The matter of staying at a luxurious hotel during the trip is not correct,” he added.
The president claimed that he and his companions stayed at hotels with much lower costs compared to the expensive hotels where former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and his companions stayed during their UK trip.
“Even though Professor Yunus and his companions ate food at 5-star hotels, the president and his companions ate ordinary food at Bangladeshi restaurants as part of austerity measures,” he wrote.
Regarding allegations of shopping, the president said there was no such activity. On doctors’ advice, he travelled limited distances, and the High Commission arranged a limited number of ordinary cars for transportation according to standard rules.
“There was no luxurious or extra arrangement here,” he said.
The president, who was largely confined to his residence during the interim government after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, said he played a pioneering role in overcoming the country’s deep crisis and in its democratic transition.
Portraying him in a “distorted” way by labelling him a “fascist” constitutes “disrespect to the highest institution of the state itself,” he wrote.
The president travelled to the UK on 9 May for a medical check-up after nearly two years. He and his wife, Rebeka Sultana, received follow-up cardiac treatment at Cambridge University Hospital.
