Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday defended her government's handling of the July-August 2024 unrest, stating that the protests
which ultimately led to her ouster "were never a peaceful student movement" and were instead driven by organised political forces seeking to remove her from power. Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia in New Delhi, her first public address since leaving Bangladesh, Hasina rejected the narrative surrounding the protests, saying her government had repeatedly attempted to resolve the crisis through dialogue. "July and August 2024 were not a peaceful student movement from the very beginning. We tried to resolve the situation through dialogue and a peaceful process," Hasina said. She claimed that she had personally reached out to the protesting students and invited their representatives to the Prime Minister's residence for discussions. "I personally took the initiative for dialogue by inviting them to the Prime Minister's residence." According to Hasina, her government also appealed the High Court's verdict on the quota system in an effort to address the students' concerns through constitutional means.
'Organised political groups wanted to destabilise Bangladesh'
The ousted prime minister alleged that the quota protests soon transformed into a political movement aimed at overthrowing her elected government. "Organised political groups were working to destabilise the country."
She claimed that what began as demonstrations over the quota system eventually turned into a campaign with a "one-point demand," her removal from office.
According to Hasina, these groups used the student movement as a cover to seize power "outside the ballot box."
'False propaganda was spread against me'
Hasina also claimed that a sustained misinformation campaign was carried out against her government during the protests. "False propaganda was spread against me," she said.
Without naming any political party or organisation, she suggested that misinformation played a key role in escalating the unrest and shaping public opinion against her administration.
The address marked Hasina's first public appearance since she was ousted from power on August 5, 2024, after weeks of nationwide protests and escalating violence forced her to leave Bangladesh.
Her speech came exactly two years after her departure and offered her most detailed public defence yet of the events that ended her 15-year tenure as Bangladesh's prime minister.
Hasina maintained that her government sought dialogue throughout the crisis and insisted that the movement had been politically hijacked long before it culminated in her removal from office.
