Dhaka, Feb 23 (.) Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has accused former Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus of having repeatedly failed to adhere to almost any constitutional protocol during his tenure as head of the interim government, and alleged that a number of ordinances issued by Yunus were both unnecessary and lacked any kind of proper constitutional grounding.

In an interview with Kaler Kantho, the President, reflecting on what he termed as a rather turbulent period, said that under constitutional provisions, whenever a Chief Advisor travels abroad he is required upon return to meet the President and brief him on the outcomes of the visit.

Additionally, the Chief Advisor must also inform the President in writing about discussions held, agreements reached and the nature of official engagements undertaken — none of which was done by Yunus.

“He travelled abroad perhaps 14 to 15 times. Not once did he inform me. Not once did he come to see me,” the President said.

He added that during that period he received what he described as steadfast backing from the armed forces.

While acknowledging that some ordinances may have been issued in haste in order to respond to some urgent circumstances, Shahabuddin noted that for almost no ordinance did Yunus even once meet the requirements laid out in the Constitution.

According to Shahabuddin, senior military officials reminded him that as president he was the supreme commander of the armed forces and that his removal would be tantamount to an institutional defeat.

“They told me only one thing: ‘Your Excellency, you are the supreme commander of the armed forces. Your defeat would mean the defeat of the entire armed forces. We will prevent that at any cost.’ In the end, they did exactly that,” he said, adding that service chiefs met him at various times to boost his morale.

The President further alleged that there had been attempts from within the interim government to remove him from office.

On those occasions as well, he claimed, the chiefs of the three services stood by him and conveyed directly to the head of the interim administration that they would not permit any unconstitutional action.

Recalling unrest outside Bangabhaban on October 22, 2024, Shahabuddin described the night as “nightmarish”. He said groups gathered outside the presidential residence, alleging that many of them were mobilised all of a sudden and funded from unknown sources.

“They wanted to loot Bangabhaban just like Ganabhaban,” he said, referring to the prime minister’s residence, Ganabhaban. He credited the armed forces with firmly controlling the situation.

Asked whether he had political support during that period, Shahabuddin said the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) stood firmly beside him and expressed commitment to maintaining constitutional continuity.

He said he had come to regard BNP chairman and now-PM Tarique Rahman as sincere and cordial, adding that the party’s cooperation during what he described as a crisis was “absolute”.

“I do not know if anyone else had the strength to endure the storm that passed over me,” he said, adding that numerous efforts to remove him through unconstitutional means ultimately failed because he remained resolute.

The president also alleged that the interim government at one stage sought to unconstitutionally install a former chief justice in his place.

According to Shahabuddin, an advisor of the interim government met the justice for about an hour to discuss the matter, but the proposal was rejected. He quoted the former judge as saying that the president is constitutionally above all and that he would not assume the office through unconstitutional means.

Shahabuddin further claimed that during the interim administration he was sidelined from official functions at home and abroad.

“They tried to keep me completely in the dark. They did not want the people to know or recognise me. They did not let me attend functions abroad or even within the country,” he said.

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