Uprising ousted Hasina, no need for resignation: Hasnat Abdullah
Hasnat’s comments came in response to media reports on President Mohammad Shahabuddin’s recent remark that he has no documentary proof of the resignation of Sheikh Hasina
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been ousted through a mass uprising, making her formal resignation from office unnecessary, Hasnat Abdullah, a central coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said today (21 October).
"Hasina has been overthrown; an illegitimate government was ousted by the people through an uprising. There is no need for any resignation letter," the student leader said in a Facebook post.
Hasnat's comments came in response to media reports on President Mohammad Shahabuddin's recent remark that he has no documentary proof of the resignation of Sheikh Hasina, who hastily fled and took refuge in India in the face of the student-led mass uprising on 5 August.
"I have heard that she has resigned. However, I do not have any documentary proof. Despite trying hard, I couldn't obtain it," Shahabuddin told Manab Zamin Chief Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, who met the president to learn about the resignation letter.
"Perhaps she didn't get the time," said the president, as per a write-up on the conversation published in Manab Zamin's political magazine "Janatar Chokh" yesterday.
During the conversation, he also told the Manab Zamin chief editor that the secretary of the Cabinet came to collect a copy of the resignation letter one day when everything was under control.
"I told him I was also looking for it," he added.
President Shahabuddin, however, said there is no longer any debate about it. The prime minister has left, and that is the truth. "To prevent any further questions, I have also sought the opinion of the Supreme Court," he said.
On 8 August, the Appellate Division, led by then Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan, gave its opinion in response to a reference sent by the president. It stated that "an interim government could be formed to address the constitutional vacuum and to ensure the smooth operation of executive functions."
The Appellate Division also opined that the president could administer the oath of office to the interim government's Chief Adviser and Advisory Council.