Sense & Insensibility
Political tide bringing in a lot of debris
LIKE the unpredictable rivers of Bengal, the political tide is changing course erratically too, causing erosion on one side and chars (land) to come up on the other. In between the two it is the common people who get caught and get carried away to the void of uncertainty.
So, we can see that the tide is changing fast for BNP leaders like Maj. (Retd) Hafiz, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman and Maj. Gen. (Retd) Z.A Khan, who had come forward to initiate reforms in the party. In the beginning, if we may remember, some second ranking leaders and a handful of workers rallied behind them and encouraged them to carry on.
But lately it seems their balloon has lost steam and is now plummeting to the ground quite fast. The ground reality, that is. They are now looking for ways to swim back to the other side where new land has appeared. They do not want to remain on the side where erosion is beginning to look frightening.
It was around that time that, from nowhere, had popped up the self-declared BNP messiah, Brig. Gen. (Retd) Hannan. He talked the way he had never talked before. He fumed and he swore, he lashed out and he cursed. Finally, he waded into knee-high water to play the voice of the supreme leader before a group of flood-affected, hungry people. But, it did not earn him what he had been aiming for. Today he clings on to exposed tree roots to save himself from the rushing water of the river.
Time and tide waited for none and kept on changing course in this land of erratic rivers. At one point, thanks to the politics of Bangladesh, it was a nondescript BNP leader named Delwar who was pulled out from the backbench to carry the party jhanda.
Immediately, the limelight and TV cameras were turned on him. It was all because of the diktat of the supreme leader of the party. But he was given only a one-line dialogue to repeat every time he was asked a question. To be truthful, he has been doing it ever so diligently.
On the other side of the divide, the Awami League reform team could not find eleven players to make a full team. The mission fizzled out, members dispersed, and quietly joined the A team. Meanwhile, the AL supreme leader now looks hail and hearty, travelling all over the northern hemisphere of the globe, attending family gatherings and lending her "ear" to all sorts of gossips and rumours.
Interestingly enough, when some of the old guns of AL continue to churn out confusing statements about municipal, upazila and national elections at home, some new guns fail to get an appointment or even a nod from the supreme leader on foreign soil! Why she should do it is a mystery, but don't such behavioural quirks give birth to rumours? If new leaders get such unbecoming treatment from the supreme leader, how will new blood be infused into the party?
Talking about Awami League reminds us of one thing. It might make some people uncomfortable but we have to come out in the open about it. Why there is no one talking about the AL leader Mohammad Nasim who is seriously ill, needing special health care? We must not forget that he is the son of one of the architects of Bangladesh, Captain (Retd) Mansoor Ali who was brutally killed by some cowardly people in a cell inside the Central Jail.
And we must not also forget that Nasim himself was a freedom fighter and organiser during our Liberation War. He also worked hard for the last thirty plus years to keep AL in one piece. Unfortunately, we heard no statement for his release or better treatment by the supreme leader of the party. By the way, where are those sidekicks who used to sit on the road with him during every hartal and made sure they were caught by the TV camera? Shouldn't they be shouting slogans for his release if the sidekicks of Tarique Rahman can do the same thing?
The old saying goes like this, while Rome burnt Nero played on his fiddle. Well, the kitchen market and the energy market are on fire in this country. There may be no Nero around, but some comments of some responsible people in the government hurt as much. We do not want such off the cuff comments from the high and mighty on matters of life and death. Yes sir, feeding a family of four today is a matter of life and death for a person of fixed income group. It is not fair to say things sitting on the other side of the fence. Compassion is a virtue that requires no great effort to exercise. Let us all learn to be compassionate in such difficult times.
As all sorts of incredible things are going on in the country, the unpredictable tide meanwhile is bringing in all sorts of political debris from the hinterland. Like hyenas, thugs and crooks are smelling blood and sending signals for the pack to arrive. They are sensing weakness, limitation and flaws in the system. The time to kill is almost here. They are now hoping to take part in the upcoming elections.
So, close the chapter on clean, dedicated, honest candidates. Close the chapter on transparency and accountability. Close the chapter on intra-party democracy and participatory parliamentary democracy. It would be impossible to expect those with the kind of politics we have had in the past and what we are going to have in the near future. Nothing has changed in the two years. Nothing will change in the coming days. The question that looms large is: Are we ng back to where we began?
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