Bangladesh Crisis: A voice recording of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina is being widely circulated as her "undelivered speech", in which she can be heard accusing the US of ousting her from power for not handling over Saint Martin's Island to it. She can also be heard saying that she resigned as PM so she did not have to see the "procession of dead bodies".
"I resigned, so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over the dead bodies of students, but I did not allow it, I resigned from premiership," Sheikh Hasina purportedly said in the viral message. ABP LIVE could not independently verify the authenticity of the voice recoding.
In the message, Hasina urged people not to be manipulated by radicals.
ALSO READ | Bangladesh Crisis: Sheikh Hasina's Son Reveals Status Of Her Political Asylum Plea
"I could have remained in power if..."
In her purported "undelivered speech", Hasina could be heard saying she could have remained in power had she surrendered the sovereignty over the Saint Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal to the US.
"I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal. I beseech to the people of my land, 'Please do not be manipulated by radicals'."
Saint Martin's Island is a small island in the northeastern part of Bay of Bengal and located about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Tankaf pensinsula.
Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled to India amid political turmoil in her country.
On Thursday, August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of an interim government in Bangladesh. The authorities are said to be trying to bring the law and order situation under control, following which Fresh elections may be announced. The country has seen massive violence in the past couple of weeks before and after the fall of the Hasina government.