Healthy Dissent
Democracy begins from political parties like charity does at home. But BNP MP Major (retd) M Akhtaruzzaman who had shown a flicker of intra-party democratic spirit arguing for an end of the Opposition's boycott of parliament has been rudely silenced.
The MP was within his democratic right to address a letter to his party chief Begum Khaleda Zia conveying what he perceived to be the political gains of rejoining parliament and the damage being currently inflicted on the party by the continuation of the boycott. He did not indulge in a signature campaign as the letter bearing only his name proves. So that one cannot fault him for ganging up and resorting to a deliberate act of indiscipline to serve his end. Although without reading the pulse of his colleagues in the party, he would not have done it with the conviction he did it. There he only served the party's cause. The fact that he made bold to speak out entirely on his own goes only to testify his honesty of purpose and political integrity. He had only submitted his views to the party hierarchy; he did not send copies of his letter to the press nor did he otherwise commit any faux pas out in the open. Like a conscientious MP and a party member he circulated copies of his letter to his party colleagues after sending it to Begum Zia. Whatever came out of him was basically a product of his love for the parliament and his sincere good wishes for his own party.
And yet he was grilled in a standing committee meeting, forced to recast his statement to regret what he did and even sort of undertake not to do it again. If one is made to feel small like this for an expression of honest opinion on a crucial issue then whither goes the scope for different thinking, let alone healthy dissent which is said to be the life-force of democracy? One recalls Dr Kamal Hossain's predicament in the AL some years ago.
But the bright side of it all is the decision taken by the BNP high command that now the national executive committee of the party would seriously debate the JS boycott issue in a bid, hopefully, to reach a positive consensus on it for an early return to parliament.
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