'Student protests were hijacked by violent groups': Sheikh Hasina tells 'Truth' behind 2024 ouster

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday alleged that the July-August 2024 unrest that led to her ouster “was not a peaceful student movement" but an organised campaign that turned a quota reform protest into a “violent political instrument" aimed at regime change. Speaking via video link to the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia in New Delhi, Hasina claimed her government had sought to resolve the quota reform protests through dialogue, legal measures and negotiations, but “organised groups" exploited the movement to pursue political objectives.