Exactly fifteen months after taking refuge in an undisclosed location in India, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her party, the Awami League, is ready to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections if given the opportunity.

In an exclusive interview to The New Indian Express, Hasina also accepted “leadership responsibility" for the deaths of thousands during the violent anti-government protests that led to her ouster last year, while denying any personal role in ordering the use of force.

Calling the ban on her party “deeply undemocratic" and a “violation of Bangladesh’s constitution," Hasina said it deprived millions of voters of their fundamental rights.

“The decision to ban the Awami League is deeply undemocratic and a clear violation of Bangladesh’s constitut

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