Bangladesh president accuses former interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus of conspiracy to destabilise state

Mohammed Shahabuddin, the President of Bangladesh, has accused former interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus of engaging in conspiracies to destabilise the country and attempting to remove him from office through unconstitutional means, according to an interview published in the Bangla daily Kaler Kantho.

The allegations mark a sharp escalation in political tensions following last month’s change of government in Dhaka.

In remarks from the Bangabhaban, his official residence, Shahabuddin said that during Yunus’s 18-month tenure as chief adviser — a position akin to head of the interim government after the collapse of the previous government — he had been excluded from key state matters and formal communications.

“During those one and a half years, I have not been in any discussion, yet various conspiracies are being hatched against me,” the president said, arguing there were attempts to “permanently destroy the peace and order of the country and create a constitutional vacuum.”

Shahabuddin claimed that Yunus repeatedly ignored constitutional obligations, including the requirement to brief him after foreign visits or on major state decisions.

He said the former chief adviser made multiple trips abroad — “14 to 15 times” — without meeting him on return or providing written summaries of discussions and outcomes, as required by constitutional precedent.

The president also alleged that key decisions, including a deal concluded with the United States shortly before national elections, were finalised without his knowledge. “No, I do not know anything. Such a state agreement should have been informed to me,” he said.

In a particularly striking claim, Shahabuddin said there was once a plot to remove him from office and install a former chief justice in his place through unconstitutional channels. He added that a judge approached for the role refused, citing constitutional constraints.

The president also described being sidelined during an Oct 22, 2024, protest outside the presidential residence and alleged that his planned foreign visits to Kosovo and Qatar were blocked by Yunus’s administration, though details of such blocks have not been independently verified.

These allegations come just days after Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) assumed office as Bangladesh’s prime minister following national elections. The shift has intensified scrutiny of the interim government period and the conduct of its leadership.