In an interview with Kaler Kantho, President Md. Sahabuddin claimed that there were various 'conspiracies' during the interim government, saying that there were many plots to 'destroy the peace and order of the country forever and create a constitutional vacuum'. I was firm in my decision. That is why no conspiracy succeeded. Especially, numerous plots to uproot the President through unconstitutional means failed. The head of state said that he received '100% support' from BNP in this difficult time.
When asked how the one and a half years of the interim government spent in Bangabhaban, he said, 'I was not in any discussion during those one and a half years, but various plots were being hatched against me. There have been many attempts to destroy the peace and order of the country forever and create a constitutional vacuum.’
He said, ‘I was steadfast in my decision. That is why no conspiracy has succeeded. The experience of one and a half years at Bangabhaban cannot be said to be good. I do not know whether anyone else had the strength to withstand the storm that has passed over me.’
The President also said that the initiative to remove him was taken under pressure from some leaders of the mass uprising. ‘The political parties came to a decision after long discussions among themselves on this issue. Even the interim government also came to a decision. That is, if the political parties want me to be removed, then only I can be removed; not by chance. Later it turned out that there were two groups on this issue.’
The President was asked, did he find anyone to support him during that difficult time?
In response, he said, “I can say without hesitation that even during those difficult times, the top leadership of BNP was by my side. They clearly expressed to me the issue of maintaining the continuity of the constitution.
“I had a lot of curiosity in my mind, especially around BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman. But I gradually realized that he was a very sincere person. He was so cordial! BNP’s cooperation was 100 percent in my difficult times.”
The President said, “A high-ranking leader from BNP assured me that ‘we have your support. We want to maintain constitutional continuity. We are not in favor of removing the President through any unconstitutional means.’
“I will say that BNP and their allies become one group. And then another group becomes another, you all know them. However, they were not successful in the end. The initiative failed because of BNP and their alliance. The government was forced to support the stand that a larger political party took.”
‘When that initiative failed from the political level, the interim government itself took new steps in this regard. The interim government conspired to bring in a former Chief Justice and replace me. I came to know about the matter. An advisor from the government approached that judge. They held an hour-long meeting. However, that judge did not agree.’
Informing about receiving support from the three forces, Md. Sahabuddin said, ‘They came to me at various times and gave me morale. Not only that, I heard that another initiative was taken from within the interim government to remove me. Even then, the heads of the three forces stood in my favor. When a mob was created in front of Bangabhaban, the armed forces also took a position.’
When asked why he thought he was not allowed to travel abroad, he said, ‘That government did not want my name to come up anywhere. They tried to keep me completely in the dark. They did not want the people to recognize me. This caused me a lot of pain. Not only abroad, they did not let me go to any event in the country. In particular, the President was supposed to attend the convocation ceremonies of universities as per tradition. They also stopped that.’
‘In one night, my picture was taken down from all the high commissions around the world. A long-standing tradition was ended overnight. I came to know about it when the incident came to the media. Then I thought that this was probably the first step in removing me. So, I might be removed in the next step. I have to be ready for that.’
The interim government withdrew the President’s press wing—noting that, the President said, ‘This was done to stop my exposure to the people of Bangladesh. In this country where state supplements are published on various important national days, the interim government stopped giving the President’s picture and message.’
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