Dhaka, March 15 -- Even in the very recent past under Sheikh Hasina's kleptocratic rule Bangladesh was hailed as a great success story for achieving rapid economic growth and raising millions of people out of poverty. A World Bank (WB) report published in October 2023 wrote "From being one of the poorest nations at birth in 1971, Bangladesh reached lower-middle income status in 2015. It is on track to graduate from the UN's Least Developed Countries (LDC) list in 2026"which a large section of the business community opposes arguing the country is not prepared for such graduation. Bangladesh under Hasina created a facade which looked like a developing-world success story.

The report then further lauding Bangladesh's economic achievements s...