DHAKA, (Reuters) – Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus launched a legal battle yesterday against his removal from the top post of the microlending bank he founded, a dismissal seen as part of a vendetta with the prime minister.
The finance minister said Bangladeshis were proud of Yunus’s record as a lender to the poor but that illegal actions — a reference to Yunus staying on as managing director of Grameen bank past the legal retirement age — could not be allowed.
Analysts suggested Yunus’s rapid removal could rebound on the authorities, denting the country’s international reputation. His supporters say Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government is trying to discredit him because he once considered setting up a political party to rival her Awami League.
