Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for Bangladesh to be freed from the influence of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, prompting the Awami League to unveil a 21-point program aimed at “restoring Mujib-Hasina’s Bangladesh.” The former ruling party of India’s neighbouring country formally announced the initiative on Monday morning, pledging a mass movement to bring Hasina back to power.
The announcement comes six days after Yunus’ July Declaration, which was released on August 5 before political groups including BNP, NCP, and Jamaat-e-Islami. In the declaration, Yunus compared the 2024 student-people’s uprising to the 1971 Liberation War and called for sweeping constitutional and legal reforms that would place both Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina’s governments under scrutiny. Supporters of Yunus have hailed the document as a new charter for Bangladesh’s liberation.
The Awami League’s 21-point plan
In response, the Awami League has issued its own manifesto, which it avoids labelling as a “charter” but describes as a liberation agenda for present-day Bangladesh. The plan includes demanding Yunus’s resignation, releasing Awami League leaders and allies, prosecuting those accused of violence during the uprising, protecting national symbols such as the flag, anthem, and constitution, reviving the non-communal and free-thinking spirit of the liberation war
Party leaders have declared that no election can be held in Bangladesh without the Awami League, vowing to remove Yunus before the scheduled polls. “Our goal is to bring back Mujib-Hasina’s Bangladesh, which Yunus has destroyed,” a senior party leader stated.
Historical parallels and symbolism
The party drew comparisons to its 2008 election manifesto — described by Hasina as a “charter for the liberation of Bangladesh”—which outlined a vision to develop the country by 2100. It also referenced Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s landmark six-point plan for East Pakistan’s self-rule in 1966, regarded as the original charter of liberation, and the 21-point United Front declaration of the 1950s, which mobilised farmers, workers, and labourers.
In its latest statement, the Awami League accused the Yunus administration of widespread corruption, political persecution, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and lawlessness during its one-year rule. The party says the 21-point campaign will unite all non-communal forces to “rebuild the Bangladesh envisioned by Mujib and Hasina.”