President feels ‘insulted’ by actions of the Yunus government, wants to step down after the election

President Md. Shahabuddin wants to step down from his position after the upcoming parliamentary elections in February. He disclosed this plan on Thursday, according to a report by the news agency Reuters. He said he feels insulted by the actions of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

As the head of state, Shahabuddin is the supreme commander of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Beyond that, the position is mostly ceremonial. Executive power rests with the prime minister and the cabinet. Reuters reported that after the change of government in August 2024, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina moved to Delhi, Shahabuddin’s position gained significance.

After the dissolution of parliament, Shahabuddin was the last constitutional authority in the country. During the Awami League government, Shahabuddin, aged 75, took oath as president on April 24, 2023 for a five-year term. Reuters stated that the president gave them this interview via WhatsApp from Bangabhaban.

He said, “I am eager to leave. I want to move away from here. I must carry out my duties until the election is held. I am in this position only because I have constitutional responsibilities as president.” The president also said that for almost seven months chief adviser Muhammad Yunus has not held any kind of meeting with him; his press department has been taken away. He also mentioned that his pictures were removed from the embassies of various countries. “All consulates, embassies, and high commissions had the president’s picture. These were suddenly removed overnight.”

The president said, “This sends a wrong message to people. People may think the president is perhaps being removed. I felt very insulted.” According to Shahabuddin, he wrote to Muhammad Yunus about the removal of the photographs, but no action was taken. Reuters wrote that they sought comments from Yunus’s press office regarding the president’s remarks, but received no immediate response.

Shahabuddin, the successor of Md. Abdul Hamid, is the 22nd president of Bangladesh, who is more popularly known as Chuppu. During his student life, Shahabuddin was an active activist and president of Pabna District Chhatra League. Later he served as president of Pabna Jubo League. In 1971 he was the convener of the Independent Bangladesh Student Struggle Council in Pabna district and actively participated in the Liberation War.

After Bangabandhu was assassinated along with his family in 1975, many leaders of his party Awami League were arrested by the then usurpers of power. Shahabuddin was also imprisoned at that time. Professionally a lawyer, Md. Shahabuddin joined the BCS (Judicial) cadre in 1982. After serving in various positions as a judge, he retired in 2006 as a district and sessions judge.

He was the head of the commission formed to investigate the attacks on the leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations, as well as on minority communities, during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government in 2001. A former general secretary of the Judicial Service Association, he also served as the coordinator appointed by the Ministry of Law in the Bangabandhu assassination case.

He served as a commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) from 2011 to 2016. Later, in January 2020, he was nominated as a member of the Awami League Advisory Council. In the Awami League’s most recent national council, he served as an election commissioner.

Source: Reuters