'My father died in the liberation struggle. Bangladesh is our Motherland. This is home,' says Monindra Kumar Nath, a Hindu who has lived his 74 years in Dhaka.
"I'm taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate," he said in a televised address amid reports that Hasina has left the country.
At least 30 suspects have been detained in Bangladesh's Chattogram city for their alleged involvement in the killing of a lawyer and attacking security personnel following the arrest of a prominent Hindu community leader. The violence erupted after Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was denied bail and sent to jail in a sedition case. The lawyer, Assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam, was killed during clashes between security personnel and Das' followers. The interim government has condemned the violence, urging people to remain calm and has ordered an investigation into the killing and appropriate legal measures.
'In the interim, India will be confronted with anti-India feeling because Sheikh Hasina had India's support.' 'We will have to deal with it, but it will not be a permanent phenomenon.' 'There is substantial goodwill towards India which will stand us in good stead.'
Bangladesh descended into chaos on Monday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina surreptitiously resigned and fled the country in a military aircraft while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum.
Videos on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, in Dhaka and smashing it with hammers.
The application accuses Hasina and others of orchestrating a violent crackdown on student protestors, resulting in widespread casualties and human rights violations.
Nobel laureate Prof Mohammad Yunus, the designated head of Bangladesh's interim government, on Wednesday fervently appealed everybody 'to stay calm' and 'refrain from all kinds of violence' as the country witnessed a major reshuffle in the security establishment after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.
New Delhi -- which has had a disastrous neighbourhood policy that has alienated almost all the States with which it has a land or sea border -- seemed to be unwilling over the past years to even consider that its unquestioning support of Sheikh Hasina was painting it into a corner, points out Mihir S Sharma.
The other members of the interim government will be finalised after consultations with various political parties, the press secretary added.
As news of Hasina's departure spread, hundreds broke into Hasina's residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-government protests that have killed more than 100 people in the last two days. At the centre of people anger is the Hasina government's controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war. With volatile crowds taking to the streets -- some clambering on Hasina's father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's statue and smashing it with hammers in a lasting image underscoring the fickleness of history -- Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old prime minister has resigned.
Alamgir said that even after the fall of the Hasina government following a people's uprising, the 'Indian establishment is yet to reach out to BNP, even though China, the US, the UK, and Pakistan have already done so.'
'We should be mindful that the religious minority community in one country is the majority in another (and) so treatment of the minority community in our respective countries will be an important variable in our relationship'
'Bangladesh has become unstable and this instability will impact India.'
A senior Bangladesh lawmaker has pointed a finger at former premier Begum Khaleda Zia, claiming that she played a role in a failed coup to overthrow Sheikh Hasina's government with the help of retired and serving army officials.
'The dominance of her party also meant that the institutions became lopsided -- whether it was the bureaucracy or the courts or the military.' 'She centralised power to the extent that you would see her representatives or her party office bearers having overly represented in these institutions.' 'That perhaps would have been the biggest blunder that she committed.'
Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sworn in as the prime minister of Bangladesh for the fifth term, days after her Awami League won an overwhelming majority in the general elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies.
The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme to demand the government's resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.
'Are we supposed to look the other way as Islamists go on a rampage against Hindus and the Hasina government pay lip service to secularism?' A revealing excerpt from Avishek Biswas and Deep Halder's book, Being Hindu In Bangladesh: The Untold Story.
Bangladeshis on Sunday began voting in the general elections expected to be won by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the absence of the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which is boycotting it.
"Everything has been finalised. Now only the formalities, including getting a visa, remain to be completed, which might be completed in a day," a source said.
'Religion and extremism is going to be a big force, a very important force, in Bangladesh's politics.'
'At this moment you cannot give her asylum because if you do, then you are directing public anger against India.'
A court in Dhaka on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, scrapping her existing bail in connection with two graft cases after she did not appear for the hearing citing "security reasons".
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday secured a record fourth straight term as her Awami League party won two-thirds of the seats in the general elections marred by sporadic violence and a boycott by the main opposition BNP and its allies.
The main Opposition BNP of former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, who is under house arrest, is boycotting the elections amidst violence.
This is possibly the first time Hasina's daughter will be by her mother's side during an official visit to close neighbour and ally India, and analysts believe this to be significant in many ways.
Foreign Heads of State and governments on Friday congratulated Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on his party's victory in the Lok Sabha polls and said they were looking forward to working with him.
Bangladesh government on Tuesday reacted sharply to top opposition leader Khaleda Zia's refusal to meet visiting President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it 'is a departure from democratic norms and courtesy'.
Bangladesh's anti-corruption body has said it has recovered $1.6 million siphoned off to Singapore by former premier Khaleda Zia's "absconding" younger son Arafat Rahman 'Koko', who was given a six-year jail term in absentia five months ago.
A former chief of Bangladesh's premier military intelligence agency on Monday claimed that ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia knew beforehand the 2004 grenade attack plot mainly targeting the then leader of Opposition Sheikh Hasina.
Sheikh Hasina should draw a veil over the nation's blood-soaked past, moderate her quest for justice and resolve the dilemma of the Bengali and Muslim identities, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray
Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the "desperate" opposition of "plotting" against her government after the army foiled a coup plot by some "fanatic" serving and retired military officers.
In the run-up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh, Home Minister P Chidambaram is flying to Dhaka to finalise an agreement relating to boundary demarcation and enclaves adversely held by the two countries.
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a key leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and considered close to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is accused of war crimes during the nine-month struggle against Pakistan which left three million dead.
Invoking her father's sacrifice in founding Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday lashed out at Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia and its fundamentalist ally Jamat-i-Islami over their campaign about 'sellout' of the country during her recent India visit.
Arafat Rahman Koko, the younger son of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, went on trial on Tuesday in a graft case for allegedly laundering Taka 23 crore.
Defending his claim that Musharraf had met Chetia, Local Government Minister and ruling Awami League's general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said, "We've the evidence. We've not made any statement without evidence. I am aware that no comment should be made about a president without any evidence."
Ahead of Premier Sheikh Hasina's three-day visit to New Delhi next week, Bangladesh's main opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia has warned her against inking any "unequal deal" with India and threatened to take to streets if the government "compromised" the country's interests.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina slammed her arch-rival Khaleda Zia of the Bangladeshi National Party on Tuesday for spearheading a "misleading campaign" against the $1 billion loan deal with India that has sparked a row between the government and the main opposition party.
