Bangladeshi President’s fate: Interim government starts discussions with political parties

DHAKA – The interim government has started discussions with political parties over the fate of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, an adviser said today.

“The council will take a decision on the basis of consensus of political parties,” the adviser told The Daily Star following a meeting of the advisory council.

The president’s issue was discussed during the meeting held at the Chief Adviser’s Office this morning. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus presided over the meeting.

Calls for Shahabuddin’s resignation started after he was quoted in a recent interview as saying that he heard that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina had resigned, but he did not have any documentary evidence.

After a meeting between a BNP delegation and Chief Adviser Prof Mohammad Yunus around noon yesterday, the party said vacancy in the president’s post at this moment would put “the state in a crisis and create a constitutional vacuum”, which the nation does not desire.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee at a press briefing yesterday evening called for national unity for scrapping the 1972 constitution and removal of the president.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam yesterday said the government has not made any decision regarding the removal of the president from office.

“We will inform you of any development regarding the matter,” he told reporters after the meeting with the BNP.

The debate regarding the removal of the president started after daily Manab Zamin’s political magazine “Janatar Chokh” on Sunday published an article containing the president’s remarks about ousted former PM Hasina’s resignation.

“I tried [to collect the resignation letter] many times but failed. Maybe she did not have the time,” he was quoted as saying.

The next day, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the president lied, and it was akin to misconduct. He questioned the president’s mental capacity to serve.

Later, student bodies, including the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, demanded the removal of the president.

On Tuesday, several hundred protesters under the banners Raktim July 2024 and Shadhinota-Sharbobhoumotto Rokkha Committee attempted to break through the security barriers in front of the Bangabhaban.

A robust four-layer security measure has been established at the Bangabhaban. But demonstrators have made sporadic attempts to gather near the president’s official residence.