'Student Protests Were Hijacked By Violent Groups': Sheikh Hasina Tells 'Truth' Behind 2024 Ouster
News world 'Student Protests Were Hijacked By Violent Groups': Sheikh Hasina Tells 'Truth' Behind 2024 Ouster 'Student Protests Were Hijacked By Violent Groups': Sheikh Hasina
News world 'Student Protests Were Hijacked By Violent Groups': Sheikh Hasina Tells 'Truth' Behind 2024 Ouster 'Student Protests Were Hijacked By Violent Groups': Sheikh Hasina Tells 'Truth' Behind 2024 Ouster Curated By Last Updated: August 05, 2026, 19:19 IST Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina said the 2024 quota protests that led to her ouster were "not a peaceful student movement" but an organised campaign for regime change. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia via video link in New Delhi. (IMAGE: REPRESENTATIVE/FILE/REUTERS) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday alleged that the July-August 2024 unrest that led to her ouster “was not a peaceful student movement" but an organised campaign that turned a quota reform protest into a “violent political instrument" aimed at regime change. Speaking via video link to the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia in New Delhi, Hasina claimed her government had sought to resolve the quota reform protests through dialogue, legal measures and negotiations, but “organised groups" exploited the movement to pursue political objectives.
“The quota reform movement was turned into a one-point demand for my resignation. False propaganda was spread in a planned way. Genuine students were emotionally manipulated, while organised groups used their movement as cover for violence and regime change," she said. Hasina alleged that from July 15, 2024, the protests escalated into killings, arson, attacks on public infrastructure and violence against law enforcement personnel. She further claimed that after she was removed from office, Awami League leaders and workers faced widespread political persecution, alleging thousands had been killed, disappeared or arrested and hundreds of thousands named in criminal cases. She also accused the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus of halting a judicial inquiry set up by her government into the violence. The former prime minister also claimed symbols associated with Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War had been vandalised, members of minority communities and journalists targeted, and the historic Dhanmondi 32 residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman demolished as part of what she described as an effort to erase the legacy of the Liberation War.
The quota reform protests that erupted in July 2024 evolved into a nationwide anti-government movement, culminating in Sheikh Hasina leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge and oversaw political reforms before Bangladesh held parliamentary elections in February 2026. The polls were won by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman, while Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting. Since her ouster, Hasina has remained in India and has repeatedly alleged political persecution of Awami League leaders and supporters, allegations rejected by the authorities in Bangladesh. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a chief sub editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses.
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