Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s interim leader, has accused the political party of ousted authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina of exhibiting “all the characteristics of fascism”, saying it has “no place” for now in the country’s politics.

Yunus’s comments in an interview with the Financial Times make clear the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate favours taking a hard line on the former prime minister’s Awami League, Bangladesh’s oldest and biggest political party, after she was toppled by a student-led revolt in August.

Yunus also said his interim government would not immediately seek the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India, an approach that may avoid for the moment fuelling diplomatic tensions between Bangladesh and its giant neighbour.

“In the short run, definitely she has no place — the Awami League doesn’t have a place — in Bangladesh,” he said.

“They controlled the people, they controlled the [political] machinery, they controlled the institutions to enhance their interest,” he added. “No fascist party should be in existence in a democratic system.”

Political rivals and human rights groups have accused the Awami League of rigging recent elections, carrying out extrajudicial killings, and capturing state institutions during Sheikh Hasina’s more than 15-year rule.

Since her flight, Bangladeshis have been debating whether the party should be temporarily suspended from politics, required to reform, or banned entirely.

Yunus speculated that the Awami League might disintegrate, but stressed that its fate would not be decided by his interim administration as it was “not a political government”.

Any decision on whether the League could participate in a future election would be decided by a “consensus” of political parties themselves, he said. “They have to decide their political space.”

Yunus, who said he has no intention of joining politics or forming a political party, would not be drawn on a timeline for the polls. “Our job is to get things settled and get a new reform agenda done,” he said. “When the election preparation is done, we will consult with political parties.” The toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s regime has strained ties with India, her biggest foreign backer.

Yunus said his government would seek Sheikh Hasina’s return, but only after a verdict was reached by a domestic criminal tribunal that this month issued an arrest warrant against her and 45 others.  “She is charged with crimes against humanity . . . when the verdict comes out, we’ll try to get her back through the extradition treaty” with India, he said. “I don’t think we have a case to do that before a verdict is done.”