In Victory Day speech, Yunus makes no mention of Mujib

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus led Bangladesh on Monday in marking the 54th Victory Day, his speech making no mention of founding leader Mujibur Rahman while calling deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration the “world’s worst autocratic government”.

“Bijoy Dibosh” commemorates the Pakistan military’s surrender to Indian forces and the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. ‘Bangabandhu’ Mujibur Rahman is seen as the independence movement’s iconic figure. His daughter Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5, after massive student-led protests against her government. Nobel laureate Yunus then took over as head of an interim government.

In his televised address to the nation, Yunus indicated that elections might be held by early 2026. “Broadly speaking, the election can be scheduled between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026,” he said.

The country could not build on its achievements because of its own faults and, of late, a “monstrous autocratic government” had grabbed power, he said in an apparent reference to Hasina’s Awami league government. He said the ouster of the “world’s worst autocratic government” amid a mass upsurge added extra significance to the celebration. Yunus and Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin separately paid tributes to Liberation War martyrs at the National Memorial.