Opinion
Whither politics of change?
THE present government came to power with the slogan 'Din Badaler Pala' -- as if a qualitative change in the lives of Bangladeshi men and women will follow. But the government's performance during the last nine months, sadly, has been disappointing. A brief outline of its performance follows.
The home minister, if I remember correctly, said the law and order situation had improved. Strange. I do not know what barometer she used to measure this rosy picture, as the practical situation is completely different. Crime, murder, highjackings, toll collections, extra judicial-killings, etc., have risen. Whether one opens a newspaper page, or listens to the TV and radio, hardly a day passes where such unfortunate news are not reported.
People expected that with all the pre-election assurances, prices of essentials would reasonably decrease or be controlled. But the government has failed miserably. According to the daily Sangram's lead news on September 27, prices of various items during the last nine months have gone from 3% to 180% up. Regrettably, instead of taking remedial measures, the commerce minister made some uncalled for remarks. If I remember correctly, he said he could not penalise businessmen for not bringing down prices.
Commonly, for any failure, the government should take appropriate action. If it does not, then who will? Did the commerce minister mean people should take action themselves? Perhaps this could never be the intention of any government. Such uncalled for remarks embolden unscrupulous businessmen to go unchecked in raising prices since they know no one will punish them.
It is relevant to recall a historical fact about price control. Perhaps there was a similar situation in India when a Muslim king, Alauddin Khilji, was the ruler. To ensure price control, as one of the measures, he proclaimed that those who gave less in weight would be punished by their flesh being cut to the deficient amount to make good the loss. That was a penal measure and he did not hesitate to take that action in the public interest. What holds back our commerce minister from ignoring the public interest and allowing business people to be successful is not understandable.
The load shedding problem is inherent. Agreed. It is the sitting government's duty to improve the situation. If the situation cannot be improved, the government should at least maintain the level it inherited. But sadly, the energy supply level has gone down surpassing the level maintained by all previous governments. The supply has decreased to a height that has multiplied the sufferings of the public. Earlier a responsible person in government said that during the month of Ramadan, particularly at Iftar and Taravi, load-shedding would be checked. But a wide gap appeared between what he said and what actually occurred. I do not know about other places, but in our area, Azimpur, it happened.
Traffic jam is another area where deterioration has peaked. Earlier, due to traffic jams, it took half an hour to go from one place to another. Now, sometimes, it takes around an hour or more for the same distance. A few days back, I made an appointment to see a doctor. I boarded a rickshaw with enough time in hand, but, after covering some distance, the rickshaw stopped moving due to a huge traffic jam. I waited for some time but there was no sign of de-jamming soon. Expecting to miss the appointment, I got off and walked the rest of the way. Someone else might already have suffered like me. The problem has become so acute that the government, according to the news, has thought of and rescheduled office times. What good that will bring, I do not know. But it surely speaks of the gravity and urgency of the matter warranting solution.
India's commissioning of the Tipaimukh dam project will bring disaster to Bangladesh. This is the opinion of not only common people but also experts and technocrats. When H.E. P.R. Chakarvarty, the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh termed our experts on the Tipaimukh issue as "the so-called experts," the government took little action against him for his undiplomatic behaviour, although people widely protested it. This was nothing short of diplomatic failure.
The failures listed above of the present government overrides its successes, if any. And if failures connote "Din Badaler Pala," or politics of change, then ordinary men and women can only pity their wisdom.
Abu Imran is a former government official.
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