Editorial
PM's exhortations fall on deaf ears
Action needed, not pious words
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina against the backdrop of wave after wave of extortionist surges unabashedly scripted by BCL cadres, has counseled Bangladesh Chhatra League to refrain from acts of terrorism and extortion denigrating the student party's glorious legacy. Indeed, this BCL is a far cry from and a patent affront to the BCL's history replete with signal contributions made to every democratic movement since 1952 Language Movement leading up to the successful Liberation War.
But for all this, we have to say that frankly, we have lost count of the exhortations that the Prime Minister has made to the wayward students, often accompanied by stern warnings, including even suspension of old student committees and their reorganisation. The outcome of all these however, in public perception, has been a big zero. Beginning with hall capture and asserting tutelage over academic institutions, their activities invariably degenerated into tender business, toll collection and what have you! If anything, these have only increased. The general impression therefore is that without the ruling party leaders' indulgence such students couldn't have done these with the impunity they have mastered.
So, exhortations have not worked, cannot work. In fact, with each call from the PM going unheeded they are emboldened to overlook the next one. With the result that counsel from no less a person than the PM tends to lose authority and credibility. The situation is clearly beyond reforming through words, what is needed is summoning enough political will to distance the ruling party from those in the BCL that are playing havoc with not only the image of the student party but also that of the government. The wrong doers should not get refuge in any quarters; instead be weeded out and punished.
We urge the PM's priority attention to this aspect of politico-administrative decision-making that has so far gone by default. Before things go further out of hand, thereby eroding the authority and credibility of the government led by Sheikh Hasina, she should act and act decisively to turn the tide for the better and seen to be doing so. People in power tend to be insulated from the darker side of ground realities and how a deteriorating scenario may translate into a steady lack of popularity. It is on the crest of a public surge of confidence in the AL that the party has scored a massive victory with all the obligations that go with it. The PM's stake is very high.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments