Discarding terrorists from political parties: A wishful thinking?

Indeed the need for such a move is so pressing that this declaration cannot afford to fizzle out on a note of parody.

How did our politics get embedded in criminalisation?

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Election to the National Assembly is supposed to be won by the wishes of the voters. But now in many cases it is bought by the grace of the goons. There was hardly any parliamentary election in our country in recent years that was free from a taint of money and muscle.

It was believed in the past that mass vote could not be purched because the voters were huge in number and no candidate could have such a gigantic network as to collect their vote against money. It also needed so big an amount of money that an individual just could not afford to spend. That's why democracy stood supreme.

But drastic changes have been wrought in recent times by brandishing black money to make the poor voters stand on their feet to fill in the ballot boxes. A constituency consists of pockets of voters, quite some being outrightly vulnerable to gratifications. Those found immune from being gained over with a seemingly tilt towards the opponent bloc by choice or richer counter allurements are treated with muscle flexing lethal therapy like attack, arson, loot etc.

True there is an Election Commission to oversee all those affairs to ensure that polls are free and fair. There is also a prescribed expenditure ceiling for a parliamentary election. It is probably Tk four lac only. But it is always exceeded and in many cases by several crore. There is a proviso to submit returns of elections expenditures to the Commission. The Election Commission knows the traditional practice of concealment and concoction by the candidates all and sundry in preparing that return. But all the Commissions have kept mum over the issue. They have more concern for the disposal than questioning how fairly it is disposed of.

In the past politics was for the politicians. They had enough learning to get an insight into the problems of the people and a heart to sacrifice for their well-being. In all times money was needed for conducting politics. It came from contributions from various sources in which generally the well-off business class primed. But they did never think of doing politics themselves gaining potent positions in the hierarchy of political parties. Two factors kept them restricted. First, they believed that politics was for men of erudition which quality the business community generally lacked. Secondly, politics was never a tool of earning money. But in course of time politics has degenerated being increasingly manned greedy elements downgrading it to an avenue of earning. So the businessmen turned out to be active purchasers of party tickets for the parliamentary polls instead of remaining content with supporting a party candidate. Becoming MPs themselves is much more profitable than returning their nominees elected to the Assembly.

The inferiority complex of the party leadership mostly born of inefficiency and lack of proper enlightenment paved the way for the retired civil and army bureaucrats to herd into major political parties gaining positions of eminence overnight. Though long three decades have passed since we emerged as a free nation the colonial concept that it is the bureaucrats than the council of ministers that govern the country still rules our mind. Without the satisfaction of the civil administration no political government can survive a full term is a phobia that our political parties suffer from. Instead of controlling the bureaucrats all governments are seen appeasing them with cajolery. The stalwarts of the party relish the view that marshalling the retired civil servants in their party will help the party control the civil administration through the hangover influence of the retired civil servants.

Most of our political leaders are pleasure-loving. Gone are the sort of politicians who had the genius of enduring infinite pains in their struggle for establishing rights and privileges of the downtrodden. Now-a-days our politicians have developed a hankering for posh living. They have no idea of 'plain living and high thinking'. Even our two martyred leading Presidents Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman lived a very simple life. But there are few among the present political leaders to emulate them. Even in our vast neighbour India we find what a simple life is led by many of its political leaders.

Posh living is not that bad. But craving for getting at it by hook or by crook, particularly in the context of our dwindling social and economic values, risks begetting great evils. It spurs men to get rich overnight. Gaining political power is considered the best lever to achieving that objective. Because in our country political power means the police at beck and call, the bank at command, the administration at docile service, the objects of profit like tender, licence, export-import, officials transfer etc at control.

At present many political leaders rear armed cadres as private force. On their advice the police and their private cadres move as complementary to one another. These cadres perform special kind of jobs like capturing a market, an apartment, a chunk of land, collecting tenders, tolls etc. Political opponents are also scared away, beaten and if needed even liquidated by these cadres. In such cases police is seen used as a back-up force preventing opponents from offering resistance and thus getting legal protection. To cap it all a new breed of politicians have emerged. They are terrorist turned politicians.

Our police are notoriously corrupt. They are never people's police. The ruling party likes them to act as their party's force. The police have to submit to the wishes of the ruling party knowing it will let them carry on with their job or corrupt practice unhindered. Thus a menacing politician-police-terrorist axis is built up.

Roughnecks are bent upon retaining a terror-friendly climate to continue their operations smoothly. They are all out for doing complete breakdown of the order of the society, fomenting widespread panick among the people and thus bullying them to surrender to their sweet will. This situation withholds foreign investment, even local investment, and destroys peace and tranquillity of the country.

All government attempts to improve the law and order situation have met with scant success. Deployment of army in the 'operation clean heart' brought marked improvement in that area but army in civil administration could not be continued for long and the process was also involved with grave consequences.

What is heartening is that recently both the two major political parties have shown maturity and a part of party leadership, mostly consisting of old guards, and large number of grassroots level activists have voiced, in both BNP and AL, to eliminate terrorists from their parties to save the image of their respective organisations. Moreover, it is getting clear day by day that unless the terrorists in both the parties are contained right now they may even pull down the party leadership. Time has come for the party stalwarts to guard up their loins.

Frankenstein has a peculiar habit of biting its creator. The unscrupulous politicians let it loose to serve their nefarious design of eliminating opponents and expediting aggrandisement. By now it has grown stronger seemingly capable of striking at their masters. It gives the creators anxious thoughts.

Let us see if there is really any attempt by the two major political parties to drop the terrorists or the proud declaration of the two stalwarts of the BNP and the AL evaporates as a wishful thinking.

R Shamsul Islam is retired Principal Govt. Mohila College, Pabna.