In a rare public statement after she was ousted from power, former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on 6 November issued an official statement congratulating Donald Trump for wining the US presidential elections. Notably, in the statement, Sheikh Hasina talked about “her commitment to working together again”, indicating her plans to return to Bangladesh and become PM again.
The statement was released by Awami League Office Secretary Biplab Barua on Wednesday on the party’s verified Facebook account, referring to Hasina as the prime minister. It said, “The President of the Bangladesh Awami League, (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina, has congratulated Donald J. Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States of America.” It added, “She stated that his resounding election victory is a testament to his extraordinary leadership qualities and the immense trust bestowed on him by the American people.”
The statement further states, “Sheikh Hasina recalled with fondness her several meetings and interactions as Prime Minister with Donald J. Trump and Melania Trump during his first presidency. She hoped that under his second presidency, the bilateral relations between the friendly countries of Bangladesh and the United States of America would be further strengthened. She expressed her commitment to working together again to advance the bilateral and multilateral interests of both countries.”
Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to work together again with Donald Trump for bilateral and multilateral interests of both countries is significant, as it means that she has not given up on returning to Bangladesh and become prime minister of the country again.
The statement also referred to her as ‘Prime Minister’ not ‘former prime minister’, which shows the Bangladesh Awami League party considers that she is still the prime minister. This comes days after president Mohammed Shahabuddin revealed that he never received any resignation letter from Sheikh Hasina.
While it was reported that Sheikh Hasina resigned from her post before leaving the country on 5th August, now it is believed that she didn’t have the time to go to the president’s house to submit the resignation letter, and flew out of the country to India in a hurry, as angry protestors had almost reached her residence and the army asked her to leave as soon as possible. Therefore, technically she could remain the PM of the country.
