Politicians unable to show maturity

The BNP's peaceful rally in Dhaka gave me a feeling of satisfaction. I was so frustrated in fear for the last few days. However, the situation has improved a bit now. However, I don’t see any opportunity to be highly optimistic about the future of democracy in Bangladesh.

BNP’s main objection was with the Suhrawardy Udyan. The party leaders said in this regard that the interior of the Suhrawardy Udyan has changed a lot. It is surrounded by a wall with a narrow path for entry and various installations inside. The leaders of the party thought the Suhrawardy Udyan was not a safe place for holding the rally. The security concern was quite intense among them. It was not possible for them to accept the proposal to hold the rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan amidst security concerns. Fear is a thing which is hard to overcome. Again, it was clear from the alternative venues proposed by the authorities that they were making fun of the situation.

Seven law makers of the BNP have announced that they would resign from the parliament. What is the political future of the party?

As of now, BNP has been termed as the main opposition on the streets. However, in reality that was not the case. However, their recent activities indicate that the party is prioritising the activities on the street. Every movement has several strategies. The movement in the parliament is quite different from the movement on the streets. Another strategy of a political movement could be cutting off ties with all sorts of agencies to make it clear that those agencies are not working properly. It is quite dangerous for democracy. However, I personally believe that our misery will continue unless different state owned organisations, be it the election commission or any other government organisation, gain their own power and take a stand against injustice. The resignation of the seven BNP lawmakers is just a symbolic protest. It doesn’t carry anything else other than that. However, the politicians take the final decisions in the end. My experience says the decisions made by the politicians prove right in one way or another.

I don’t think that BNP is falling behind in electoral politics. We, the people outside the party, thought the 10-December rally would be foiled. However, the mass rally was held peacefully. The Awami League and the BNP are two major parties of the country. They are big as political parties, have properties and have connectivity with the people. Therefore, I don’t think that they need time to prepare for the election. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is asking people to vote for Awami League during the mass rallies she is attending. There are still twelve months before the election. Asking for votes now indicates that there may be a possibility of holding the election in advance or the ruling party may have such ideas.

There is a conflict among the ruling party, the opposition and their alliances regarding the electoral processes. We will have to in this state of uncertainty if the problem is not solved. This sort of uncertainty is a very bad thing. Nobody, from industrialists to teachers, can concentrate on their work properly amid such uncertainty. Uncertainty is highly detrimental to the country as a whole.

My experience in the past few years says the role of the civil society has faded. However, it is a matter of hope that many have started talking in this regard. Therefore, it is not impossible to create a political dimension from the civil society. And it doesn’t need much time to happen in a country like Bangladesh. Therefore, I think that the civil society can play the role of a kind of conscience between the government and the people.

The first thing is that I personally respect the country's independence, sovereignty and dignity. It is not desirable to me that they perish in any way. Secondly, some foreign states, some international organisations, the United Nations—are taking a role regarding Bangladesh. The question is who gave them the space to become so. I think that if we had been completely flawless or at least near flawless, such interferences would not have been possible. A state's relations with the outside world depend to a large extent on its internal conditions. Such problems arise if the situation in the country is vulnerable or the people do not have confidence in the role of the government. Bangladesh has a big interest in this context, our economy. The economic situation in the country has become vulnerable due to several reasons. In this situation, it won’t be prudent to do anything that hampers the inflow of the remittance and the income from exports.

The democratic politics in Bangladesh is yet to gain maturity even after 51 years of independence. The politicians in the country are not being able to show maturity. The duty to show this political maturity lies more on the party in power than the opposition.