Editorial
Khaleda Zia's unfortunate stance
Her presence alongside PM would have energized politics
IT was with a fair and natural degree of happiness that we welcomed the announcement by Jatiyo Sangsad Speaker Abdul Hamid about a joint appearance by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition at an anti-poverty rally scheduled for Saturday. The fact that the speaker's announcement was made in the presence of the chief whips of the Awami League and the BNP gave people to understand, and rightly too, that here finally was an opportunity for both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to offer their perspectives to the nation on tackling poverty and its consequences. Sadly enough, that opportunity, having come so close to being a reality, has now been dashed by Begum Zia on grounds, however justified, need not have been expressed in this manner. She has put forward a four-point demand she thinks the government should accept as a way of forging a national consensus on the issues that matter. And unless her demands are met, she will have nothing to do with the ruling party.
The former prime minister's attitude is as deplorable as it is infuriating. Obviously, she has felt that sharing the platform with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would be tantamount to endorsing the latter's policies. Why that should be the case is beyond us. It is poor politics and poorer political judgement. Fundamentally, it negates the very concept of modern politics. There have been innumerable occasions --- in the United States, the United Kingdom, in Europe and in India --- where heads of government and leaders of the opposition have come together to present their views on important national issues, without endorsing each other's policies. They have disagreed and yet they have demonstrated an admirable readiness to keep their disagreement from sliding into pathological mutual hate and distrust. That, to our intense shame and shock, has not been the case in Bangladesh, at least not since the restoration of democracy in 1991. Begum Zia has just given us the clearest indication that she is unwilling to energise the nation on even such apolitical issues as dealing with poverty. That certainly pours cold water over our expectations from our leading political figures.
Even if one were to agree with the BNP chairperson's assessment of the existing political situation in the country, one would like to inform her that everything she and her party colleagues have been saying is supposed to be aired in parliament. She has not given the people of the country any convincing arguments as to why her party has kept on boycotting the JS even though its members have taken part in meetings of the many parliamentary standing committees and sub-committees. One could now ask, and not without reason, if Begum Zia's reasons for not attending yesterday's anti-poverty programme are a diversionary tactic aimed at deflecting popular attention from her party's deliberate and pointless rejection of parliamentary attendance. She has now torpedoed the chance for a revival of constructive politics by opting out of the anti-poverty programme. It is the nation which is left feeling bitter, with the thought that some of our politicians are ill-equipped to give us a vision for the future.
We find Begum Zia's position unacceptable. The huge impact her presence alongside the prime minister on the same platform would have created in the matter of reducing poverty simply failed to register with her. And thus what should have been the opening of a new road to democratic politics ended up being a new roadblock to a pluralistic future. We are sad and shocked and angry.
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