& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Commentary

Hasina should take a responsible line in her statements

Bv S.M. AH
If insinuations and innuendos can form the basis of political statements, the Awami League (AL) President and leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Sheikh Hasina has set up a record, but caused totally unnecessary confusion in the public mind on a couple of vital issues facing the country.
According to a news agency report, she told a rally In Chittagong on Friday that she wondered about the "mystery"
Mtwjid took place after Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's visit to New Delhi and the Jamaat-BJP meeting in the Indian capital.
No matter how the AL leader put it in Bangla. the insinuation was perfectly clear. Having suggested tn recent weeks that Indian Prime Minister Narastmha Rao had obtained the agreement of Begum Zia for the "push back" operation when the latter visited New Delhi, Hasina now throws a hint that the two prime ministers might have also discussed the demolition of I he historic mosque at indirectly accuses both Rao and Zia of being Involved In or at least being tn the know of the most heinous plot hatched
> by militant Hindus to destroy the Babrl Masjid.
Whether one calls It just an insinuation or an indirect allegation, this is the most Irresponsible statement ever to come from the leader of Hasina's stature, from one who leads the opposition in the parliament as the head of the alternative government.
While serious political analysts here, not to mention diplomatic circles, may just eratfon. tens of thousands of people who heard Sheikh Hasina at the rally probably
took the matter seriously, agreeing with the AL leader that the Prime Minister pos'-sibly had something to do with the destruction of the mosque.
To the cheering crowd, it did not perhaps matter that Hasina did not elaborate on the charge against Begum .Zia. far from offering any evidence to back up her allegation.
The AL leader s accusation against the Jamaat for working closely with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the same issue, during a Nizami-Advani meeting in New Delhi, must also be treated as an unsubstantiated charge. The fact that these two extremist parties have done their best to exploit the communal frenzy sweeping South Asia does not necessarily make them -political bed-fellows In the Babri Masjid episode.
A leader must avoid the temptation of making political statements on the basis of guesses, hear says and hunches, ft Is a pity that Sheikh Hasina seems unwilling to resist such a temptation.
We are in agreement with the l,cadcr of Opposition when she criticises the government on a number of issues, ranging from the law and order situation to the ■ stagnation of the economy. But we must differ with her. with all the force at our command, when she comes up with unsubstantiated
charges against the ruling party and. more often than not, personally against Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Through these attacks on the Head of the Government, the AL President places her own credibility at stake, diverts attention of the people from the real Issues facing the nation and .further weakens the prospects for an all-party consensus on national prob-k-ms.
We arc speaking for a crosssection of our people when we urge tjie two leaders, Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. to call a halt to the continued deterioration in their personal relationship and place the interests of the country above their mutual hostility.
Meanwhile, leading figures in the ruling party and the opposition will be well advised to play a moderating role on the whole scenario, instead of fanning the Increasing distrust between the two organisations as many of them have been doing In recent days over the history of the Liberation War.
What thtsc leaders, including Khaleda and Hasina, may not know, is that they are being judged By millions of people all the lime. If they fail in the test which involves a continuous process, they will let themselves down, their organisations, the system and, indeed. tfie whole country.