B'desh court seals Yunus removal from Grameen Bank

Dhaka, Mar 9: A court in Bangladesh has on Mar 8 upheld an order to remove Muhammad Yunus as head of Grameen Bank, a micro-lending financial organisation. Allies of Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate insist that the action was prompted by a government vendetta over his political aspirations.

Bangladesh's central bank removed Yunus, 70 as the head of Grameen Bank saying that his staying as the Managing Director beyong the age of 60 was illegal. The court also echoed the same statement and said, "Hence he must vacate the post." Nearly 200 employees and customers of the organisation staged a protest outside the bank premises.

In 2007, Yunus first attempted to launch a political party but aborted it saying that it may not fir the country's politics. Although he wasn't likely to pose any threat to present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but his popularity among the poors could have led his party to make serious dents into the vote-bank of Hasina's party.

Yunus was not present in the court during the verdict but stayed in the country after cancelling a trip to the US to meet Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.

Though Yunus has refrained from making any comments, his lawyers have made it clear that with his consent they are going to appeal against the decision.

OneIndia News