Natore mayhem

In a rabid manifestation of political vendetta, no fewer than 16 houses of purportedly AL loyalists were set on fire. Curiously enough, whenever a political leader or activist is murdered, the killer is almost always spotted on the other side of the political divide. The attention of the aggrieved is often diverted to the rival political party instead of the real perpetrators of the crime. The logic behind such obsession with fixing targets well before getting any clues about a particular crime is as preposterous as it is unfair. For the purposes of law, a criminal is a criminal devoid of any political colour.

The dangers associated with unleashing such 'pogroms' against political adversaries are far too obvious. When the elements within the ruling party commit such palpable crimes, the rule of law takes a heavy pounding. There is a qualitative difference between an ordinary citizen committing a culpable offence and a ruling party activist doing it -- the sooner this is recognised the better.

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We have seen politics of confrontation, killing and violence, but such hooliganism is perhaps a new phenomenon with all its attendant ills of possible replication. It is not clear how the government can face up to such free-for-all vandalism.

We urge the top leaders of the ruling party to condemn the attack, identify the criminals and punish them . They have to do these not only for the sake of justice but also to take the democracy out of the morass it unfortunately finds itself in.