Bangladesh’s Nobel winner Yunus likely to be part of caretaker govt

DHAKA: Protest leaders in Bangladesh have urged country’s Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead the interim government after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country.

In a video posted on social media early Tuesday morning, Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the students’ protest movement, said that Professor Yunus has agreed to take on this crucial responsibility at the call of the student community to save the country.

Bangladesh: Student protestors refuse to accept military rule

Reuters reported that Bangladesh’s army chief will meet student protest leaders on Tuesday as the country awaits the formation of a new government a day after Hasina resigned and fled the country following a violent uprising against her rule.

Yunus, 84, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh but he was indicted by a court in June on charges of embezzlement that he denied.

In April 2013, the US Congress bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal, to Yunus, who became the first Muslim to be awarded the country’s top civilian award.

In an interview with Reuters in June 2024, Yunus said that Bangladesh has turned into a “one-party” state as the ruling party stamps out political competition.

Bangladesh: What’s next after PM Sheikh Hasina forced out?

An election in January won Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a fourth straight term, but it was boycotted by the main opposition party, whose top leaders were either jailed or in exile ahead of the poll.

Just before the election, a court in Bangladesh had sentenced Yunus to six months in prison for violations of labour law, which he denied.