Editorial
Disciplining errant party elements
Top leadership must act fast
It is worthwhile to note that a verbal climate of crusade is in the offing within the ruling party against leaders and activists who seem incorrigibly set to bring their party to disrepute through abuse of power. New voices are being added to the PM's stern warning in the September 17 parliamentary party meeting against the lawmakers' indulging in or patronising acts of extortion, tender manipulation and the like. AL presidium member Obaidul Quader expressed the party's resolve to identify and discipline those who tainted the government's image. AL secretary general Ashraful Islam also joined in.
We are convinced that the issue has raised serious concern in their minds, but one notices too a degree of helplessness in them because these activities continue with impunity.
One of the party leaders has diagnosed the ailment in so many words: infighting within the party and lack of chain of command. With that kind of an insight and knowledge why is the party hierarchy not exercising their writ forcefully?
What we fail to understand is why the party has failed so far to take any action against these people when the leaders have enough reasons to believe that the party has been let down by the unlawful activities of some of their party members.
Obviously, in a situation like this mere exhortations without follow-up through deeds can only send weak signals; nothing short of manifestly appropriate action against the recalcitrant can be effective. This is plain to everybody.
We cannot believe that the AL is still in the process of identifying the wrong-doers, and we take little comfort in the statement of a presidium member that the grassroots level council, scheduled to be held in December 2009, will take action against these elements. It is the top leadership that will have to undertake moves decisively with adequate political will to set the house in order.
The process of self-cleansing must commence immediately. The party leadership at all levels has an important role to play though, not least of all to make examples of the bad eggs in the party, whose identity they know only too well. The law enforcing agencies must come down hard on these elements without fear and the public agencies dealing with procurement be instructed not to give in to pressures from errant elements.
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