Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, now taking refuge in India, has broken her silence by accusing foreign powers, particularly the United States, of playing a role in her recent ouster, according to a report by The Print.

This statement comes just days after the Indian government announced it was analyzing the possibility of foreign interference in the political crisis in Bangladesh.

“I could have remained in power if I had ceded St. Martin and the Bay of Bengal to America,” Hasina reportedly conveyed in a message to her Awami League supporters on Saturday, as seen by The Print.

Hasina's tenure saw years of strained relations with the US. Ahead of the elections in January this year, she claimed that "a white man" had offered her a smooth return to power in exchange for an airbase.

In her latest statement, Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh’s history, warned the new interim government against being “used” by foreign powers.

The 17-member interim advisory council, which includes members sympathetic to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, was sworn in on Thursday night. This followed the dissolution of Bangladesh’s Parliament earlier in the week, after army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina's resignation shortly after she fled the country.

“I resigned so that I did not have to witness a procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over the bodies of students; I did not allow it. I relinquished power,” Hasina stated.

“Maybe if I had stayed in the country today, more lives would have been lost, more wealth destroyed,” she added.

Hasina is expected to address the media while in India next week.

The ouster of Hasina, amid weeks of student-led protests, saw the deaths of over 300 people. The US, UK, Canada, and other nations have called for investigations into the killings. With the establishment of the new interim government in Dhaka, Washington expressed hope that it will "chart a democratic future" for Bangladesh.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Mohammad Yunus, who now leads the interim government, is believed to have strong ties with the US. In the past, WikiLeaks cables revealed that Yunus had frequently met with American diplomats to express his concerns about the state of Bangladeshi politics. The US remains Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investor.

‘I Will Return Soon’

In her message to supporters and party cadres, Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh, while accepting her defeat.

“I will return soon, inshallah. The defeat is mine, but the victory belongs to the people of Bangladesh,” she declared.

“I removed myself, I came with your victory; you were my strength. When you no longer wanted me, I resigned. To my workers who remain, do not lose morale. The Awami League has risen again and again,” she added.

The former prime minister also accused some of distorting her words.

“I want to reiterate to my young students, I never called you Razakars…My words have been twisted. A group has taken advantage of your plight,” she said.

The term "Razakar" is considered derogatory in Bangladesh, as it refers to volunteers who collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the country’s 1971 War of Independence.