The cases and arrests of BNP’s top leadership do not seem to improve the current political deadlock in the country; rather these can exacerbate the situation.
The top leaders of BNP are being arrested one after another since the party’s rally on 28 October was marred by violence. Many frontline leaders of the party went into hiding to evade arrest. It is evident to everyone that, regardless of the specific charges they face, these arrests are politically motivated. Such steps of the government ahead of the next general election might further roil the situation.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested a day after the 28 October rally on charges of barging into and pelting bricks at the residence of chief justice.
Standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and media cell coordinator Zahir Uddin Swapan were arrested in the case filed over the murder of a police constable. Amir Khasru is the chief of BNP’s international committee and maintains the party's international connections.
Other recently arrested central leaders include standing committee member Mirza Abbas, three joint secretaries general Moazzem Hossain, Mozibur Rahman Sarwar and Khairul Kabir and Ruhul Quddus Talukder.
Dhaka city north and south BNP’s several joint conveners, member secretaries and president-secretary of at least 20 districts have been arrested. Leadership is very important for any party that practices systematic political activities.
Absence of top leadership creates possibility of activists going wayward. That scenario may not bode well for politics.
BNP, Gantantra Mancha and several other political parties will hold a 48-hour blockade from today, 5 November. The opposition parties observed hartal for one day and blockade for three days in the past week.
Violence ensued in different parts of the country including Dhaka during hartal-blockade and protesters clashed with police in some places. The clash that started on 28 October left nine people including a policeman, BNP activists and general people dead.
Around 80 buses were torched. Although some public transport operated inside Dhaka city, the absence of long haul buses on highways literally severed Dhaka’s road communication with other parts of the country. The blockade disrupted the normal life of people.
At a moment when the country’s economy is in a frail state due to global factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East crisis and local factors such as dollar-crisis and irregularities and mismanagement, the ongoing political violence is both unwarranted and unacceptable.
Dialogue, compromise and systematic political activities are the ways to come out of political impasse. It is the duty of the political parties to find the ways without pushing people into crisis and the economy in uncertainty.
The ruling party has greater responsibility in this regard. The cases against BNP activists and the arrest of top leadership have complicated the prospects for any compromise.
Violence and anarchy in politics do not yield any positive outcomes for any party. Let good sense prevail.