'Want to build best relationship with India but...': Muhammad Yunus blames 'online disinformation campaigns'

Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said his government is committed to maintaining strong relations with India.

“We want to build the best relationship with India. They’re our neighbour. We don’t want to have a basic problem with them. But somehow things go wrong every time because of all the fake news," said Yunus as quoted by News18. He was speaking at Chatham House in London.

According to Yunus, Bangladesh was growing increasingly “jittery and angry" due to repeated online disinformation campaigns.

“We try to get over this anger. But the whole barrage of things keeps happening in cyberspace. We can’t just get away from that. Even if we try to remain peaceful, suddenly they say something, do something- and the anger comes back. So this is now a big task for us," Yunus said.

Yunus took charge of Bangladesh in August 2024 after India's old ally Sheikh Hasina was toppled as prime minister by a student-led uprising and fled to India by helicopter. The subsequent spike in violence against minority Hindus in Bangladesh soured its relations with New Delhi.

In May 2025, the Yunus administration banned Hasina’s Awami League, accusing it of corruption and authoritarianism. Dhaka also accused India of interfering in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) formally indicted Sheikh Hasina and two others for alleged mass murder related to the 2024 crackdown on student-led protests.

"When I had the chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I simply said you want to host her, I cannot force you to abandon that policy... but please help us in making sure that she doesn't speak to Bangladeshi people the way she's doing," Yunus said, referring to Hasina's addresses from India.

Yunus and PM Modi exchanged letters on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. In his June 6 letter, Yunus acknowledged PM Modi's greetings and said the message "reflects the shared values" between the two nations.

Yunus said that national elections will be held in April 2026, rejecting the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) demand for early polls.

“The government has held discussions with all parties to organise the most free, fair, competitive and acceptable elections in history," he said, adding, “After reviewing the ongoing reform activities related to justice, reform and elections, I am announcing to the people of the country today that the next national elections will be held on a day in the first half of April 2026."