I have come before you to bid you farewell: Chief Advisor

Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, said, "I have come before you today to bid farewell to my work. Our first task was to mobilize the country. This was the most difficult task."

He said this in his address to the nation at 9:15 pm on Monday (February 16). The Chief Advisor's speech is being broadcast live on Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar.

He said, "After faithfully fulfilling the responsibilities entrusted to me for the past 18 months, I have come to bid you farewell today as the Chief Advisor to the Interim Government on the eve of the handover of responsibility to an elected government."

Recalling August 5, the outgoing chief advisor said, "What a day of liberation that was! What a day of joy! Bangladeshis everywhere, both at home and abroad, shed tears of joy. Young students have brought the country out of the grip of the demon. The country has been liberated. But the country is completely immobile. How to make this immobile country active was on everyone's mind. The student leaders of the uprising decided that a government would be needed to make the country active. They informed me about the formation and running of the government. I was abroad at the time. I was not willing to take responsibility. They convinced me by saying that I would fulfill my duty to the nation. After 18 months, it is now my turn to go."