Perspectives
BNP taking us for a ride again?
EVEN as D-day in the electoral battle approaches, and the nation impatiently awaits its tryst with elusive democracy, we confront, with a measure of trepidation the BNP's bluster of an amorphous conspiracy to skittle the election -- although the party supreme Madam Zia does not elaborate how.
Now confident that she may be able to take the nation for a ride once again she quickly made up the gap with her archrival, the Awami League, and almost overtook it in her whirlwind electioneering. Herself in a paroxysm, she has been trying to drive the public to a frenzy with her theories of conspiracy and "endangered sovereignty." Added to them is her new invention of "election engineering," of which she is on record as being a past-master. Among many things she is remembered for is her craftily scripted election of January 22, 2007. Fortunately, it did not be materialise, it but exposed the madam thoroughly.
When someone is unable to address the hard issues of the polity he or she resorts to such stunts and takes refuge in the abstraction inherent in them. The BNP has, however, drawn up an election manifesto of sorts as a matter of routine, and it is obviously comprised of most of the stale promises the party had made and broken in the past. As a result, it turns to be a burlesque of such a solemn document and a mockery in itself.
In the manifesto, the party says that it wants to eradicate corruption and terror among other things. How can the same political formation, the stalwarts of which systematically plundered the country during its rule turn white overnight -- let alone fight corruption.
Volumes have been written about the corruption of BNP and its scroungers; yet the analysts and observers reckon that only a fraction of the lot has so far been unraveled. Even now, sensational stories of its predatory acts are unfolding; the latest being Arfat Zia's account in a Singapore bank. Similarly, no one as yet knows exactly how many were repressed, raped, and killed by BNP-Jamaat goons.
And terror? The less said the safer it is, for it is difficult to fathom the terror unleashed by BNP, but the people of the country have the first hand knowledge of it. The vendetta of BNP-Jamaat alliance against its opponents and minorities is almost proverbial. That they will again carry out such vendetta is clear from their pronouncements and choice of nominees for ninth parliament.
The BNP nomination of the accused of the August 21 grenade attack is a pointer. Jamaat nominees include war criminals, while the BNP supreme still surrounds herself mostly with the accused and convicts of a bewildering variety of crimes. Isn't it a joke that her party, if elected, will fight crime?
The socio-economic outlook incorporated in the manifesto is perfunctory at the best. Apart from the fact that it is opaque and desultory, their intention of reducing the price hike lacks credibility because it is they who introduced syndicate system to maximise profits for their favourites. Moreover, the intricacies of higher economies and its interaction with market forces are obviously beyond the grasp of Madam Zia and her associates, given the academic background of the madam and that of most others in the party.
The next government of the country is envisioned as an agent of change, catapulting us into the mainstream of the global village and on the fast track of the 21st century. Doubts abound that Madam Zia's BNP, with its track record, is qualified enough to meet the bill. Along with Jamaat, which is still questioning the basic tenets of our independence, the alliance is a backward looking entity dominated by the dregs of the nation.
They may be good enough for laying foundation stones, cutting ribbons and, at best, taking the salute in a ceremony, but not for nation building, which requires vision, long term socio-economic perspectives and, on the top of everything, a political will for effecting the metamorphosis we are looking for.
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