New Delhi:

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has claimed that the recent protests in Bangladesh were likely instigated by a foreign intelligence agency, specifically suspecting the involvement of the ISI.

Speaking to ANI, he said that the unrest was driven by external forces rather than domestic issues and criticized how his mother’s statement was distorted to fuel the protests.

“I now firmly believe this was instigated by a small group and most likely by a foreign intelligence agency. I strongly suspect the ISI. 

There was no reason for the protests to continue because the quotas were not mandated by our government and were restored by a court ruling. Our government had lifted the quotas in 2018 or so when the first quota protests happened,” he said.

He alleged that the protesters twisted Sheikh Hasina’s statement on Razakars, which led to the escalation of the protests.

“When the protests started, they were peaceful. Our police provided security for the protesters. Then they took my mother’s statement where she said that we don’t want Razakars’ families getting jobs. 

They took that statement and twisted it, saying that my mother said the protesters were Razakars. My mother never said that. But this was spread online. And then, in the middle of the night, some group–nobody knows who did that–marched through Dhaka University chanting, ‘We are Razakars’. And that is what happened. The other students, especially Bangladesh Chhatra League, our student supporters, and the pro-liberation students, got angry. 

They attacked the protesters, and that is how the violence started,” he said while adding, “The police tried to stop the violence, and in doing so, some police members used live ammunition, which they were not authorized to do. Our government never ordered anyone to attack. 

Our government never ordered the police to use live ammunition. We immediately called our student leaders and said, ‘Stop the fighting.’ The fighting stopped. We immediately suspended the police officers who used excessive force.”

He also questioned the presence of weapons among the protestors and emphasized that his mother, Sheikh Hasina, chose to leave her residence to prevent a potential massacre, prioritizing the lives of students.

“They increased the demand for the resignation of the government. And once they did that, they started attacking the police with firearms. Where did these weapons come into Bangladesh from? How did the students get weapons? So these weren’t students. This was a mob. This was militancy that was instigated to try to overthrow a democratically elected government,” he said.

“My mother left (even when) her security forces were heavily armed and prepared to guard the prime minister’s residence. But if the protesters had marched in hundreds, they would have been killed. It would have been a massacre. And my mother did not want a massacre. That is why she left,” he explained.

He added, “She left to protect the lives of the students.”

Wazed said that the current interim government in Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was ‘unconstitutional’.

“We want a quick restoration of democracy. Right now, this government is completely unconstitutional. There is no provision for a selected government slected by a small minority, because we have 170 million people in Bangladesh, and 20,000-50,000 protesters are a tiny fraction of the minority. No one has voted for this government. So whether they can restore law and order remains to be seen. 

They’ve only been in power for less than 24 hours,” he said.

“It’s one thing to take over power in a coup; it’s another thing to govern. They don’t have the people’s bandwidth. Who is going to listen to them? Right now, there are two main political parties in Bangladesh. No matter what you do, if you want democracy with 170 million people… we have 100 million followers. They have not voted for or supported this government. So without their support, how are you going to govern? I wait to see who is going to listen to this government. It’s one thing to be placed in power. It’s another thing to have people following you,” he said.

He claimed that within 12 hours of coming to power, the interim government had begun to make mistakes.

“In 12 hours, they’re already starting to make mistakes. They’ve already announced that elections are not a priority. The priority is to have trials of the previous government to reform the country. But no one gave them the mandate to reform the country. They don’t have the mandate of the people of Bangladesh. So who is going to support them? Who is going to follow their orders?” Wazed said.

He said that the Awami League has always protected minorities, and pointed out that the last 15 years were the safest for minorities in Bangladesh. He added that the interim government has failed to keep minorities safe as they are trying to flee the country.

“In the history of Bangladesh, only one government kept the minorities of Bangladesh safe from all militancy and violence. That was the Awami League. The last 15 years were the safest period in Bangladesh’s history for minorities and for Bangladesh itself. And it was also the period of the highest economic development growth. Even those who are criticizing Sheikh Hasina cannot deny it. This non-elected government does not have the support of almost the entire population of Bangladesh. Are they going to be able to keep minorities safe? The minorities are trying to flee the country. I am worried about them. I want to do what I can to keep the minority safe, restore law and order to Bangladesh, and bring back democracy. That is our goal,” he added.

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina, tendering her resignation from her post on August 5 in the wake of mounting protests. The protests erupted in early July due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans.

The unrest intensified after students opposed a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violence, including attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)