New Delhi: Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched a scathing verbal assault Friday against Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, branding him a "traitor" and a "usurer" just weeks before scheduled national elections.

Speaking from exile, Hasina called for a nationwide uprising to topple what she described as a "foreign-serving puppet regime" and restore the constitutional order she claims was dismantled after her departure in August 2024.

“The murderous fascist Yunus, a usurer, a money launderer, a plunderer, and a corrupt, power-hungry traitor, has bled our nation dry with his all-consuming paradigms, staining the soul of our motherland,” Hasina said in a high-decibel address.

A Nation "At the Edge of an Abyss"

The former prime minister portrayed the current state of Bangladesh as a "valley of death" and a "vast prison," alleging that the land once liberated by her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is being ravaged by "extremist communal forces and foreign perpetrators."

Hasina claimed she was "forcibly ousted" on Aug. 5, 2024, through a "meticulously engineered conspiracy" involving Yunus and "anti-state militant accomplices." Since that day, she asserted, "Democracy is now in exile."

The remarks come as Bangladesh prepares for parliamentary elections on Feb. 12. However, the political landscape remains heavily restricted; the country’s Election Commission suspended the Awami League's registration last May, and the interim administration has banned the party from conducting all political activities.

Call to Arms

Despite the ban, Hasina insisted that the Awami League remains the nation's "oldest and most important" political pillar. She urged the "brave sons and daughters of Bangladesh" to reclaim the country's independence and safeguard its sovereignty.

“In this grave hour, the entire nation must rise united and galvanised by the spirit of our great Liberation War,” she said. “To overthrow the foreign-serving puppet regime of this national enemy at any cost, the brave sons and daughters of Bangladesh must defend and restore the Constitution written in the blood of martyrs.”

Hasina concluded by calling on "progressive and non-communal forces" to take an oath to confront the "treacherous designs" of the interim leadership and restore the "thriving homeland that was snatched away."

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Yunus, has yet to issue a formal response to the latest broadside from the former leader, who has been residing in India since fleeing the violent protests that ended her 15-year rule.

With inputs from ANI