Congress leaders extend wishes to Muhammad Yunus, hope for peace and normalcy in Bangladesh

New Delhi [India], August 9 (ANI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge extended his congratulations to Muhammad Yunus on Thursday following his swearing-in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. Kharge expressed hopes for a swift return to peace and normalcy in Bangladesh.

“On behalf of the Indian National Congress, I extend our good wishes to Professor Muhammad Yunus on being sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government,” Kharge said in a post on X. “We sincerely hope that normalcy and peace return to Bangladesh, our neighbour, with whom we Indians share a historic relationship. We pray for the safety of all the Bangladeshi people, including all the minorities.”

In a post on X, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also congratulated Yunus, saying, “Congratulations to Professor Muhammad Yunus on being sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. A swift restoration of peace and normalcy is the need of the hour,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

Nobel laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus took the oath on Thursday night, three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Prime Minister and left the country amid widespread unrest.

Yunus, 84, was sworn in at a ceremony in Dhaka.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, praised Yunus as a legend in microfinance and social entrepreneurship.

“I have known him very well. During 2011-2014, my colleagues and I in the Ministry of Rural Development used to study and keep track of his Grameen Bank initiatives for our own National Rural Livelihoods Mission Aajeevika based on bank-linked women self-help groups,” he said in a post on X.

“Dr. Manmohan Singh has been a great admirer of his work. India wishes him all the very best in his new assignment at Dhaka. There are huge expectations from him across the world, most of all the hope that the wonderful cultural diversity of Bangladesh – which is also a source of economic strength – is protected and allowed to flourish,” he added.

Bangladesh has been rocked by violence following protests led primarily by students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs.

Yunus’s key tasks will be to restore peace and prepare for new elections.

Upon arriving in Bangladesh, Yunus made a heartfelt appeal to his supporters and urged the people of Bangladesh to maintain calm and end chaos, stressing that it is the “first responsibility” to ensure that no attack is carried out against anyone in the country, Daily Star reported.