TWo news items must have drawn the attention of readers at the beginning of the week. Both the ruling BNP and the main opposition Awami League are well behind schedule when it comes to holding party councils.

The reports are interesting, if only because they give a detailed account of the state of 'internal democra-tisation' in the two major political parties. It is not precisely known how many times the two parties have blamed each other for not being democratic, and bemoaned the 'visible' lack of democracy in the enemy camp. The bemoaning often found expression in vitriolic attacks.

The parties are ready to go to any lengths to defend democracy. But missing the deadline for holding councils again and again is not an indicator of democracy being nurtured with care within the parties. Your home is the most fertile ground for sowing the seeds of democracy.

Superficially speaking, it is a minor lapse that can be overcome by fixing a new date for a party council. But the matter is not that simple. Lack of elections within a party for a long time in violation of its constitution allows the partymen to assume certain undemocratic traits. They go unchallenged and the democratic culture within the party cannot flourish. Then, the talk of democracy, a favourite pastime of political leaders, does not make any sense when their parties do not attach due importance to democratic practices.

The CPA conference began Tuesday without the participation of the opposition. That was not a big surprise in itself. The AL, after all, looked like having more interest in settling scores with the government than in accepting the invitation. There were some last-minute attempts by the CPA high-ups to coax Sheikh Hasina into joining the conference. She was not convinced.

Denis Marshall must be an unhappy man. He perhaps never thought that the invitation to join the meet was too heavy a load to the opposition. It is not easy to explain why the government and the opposition cannot even sit together in a meeting for some time. It is one of those inexplicable quirks of our domestic politics that aliens might find quite baffling. It is a real brain twister.

The AL has blamed the government for 'politicising' the show. Aren't people tired of hearing the same thing over and over again? They would expect the BNP to explain why it left the opposition out of the preparatory phase, and the AL to come up with more forceful arguments in favour of its decision. Politicisation is not a wholesome exercise, regardless of what is politicised, but when it comes in the form of an accusation it may sound a bit vague.

Matters did not end there. The AL was denied permission for holding a rally because it could pose a security problem to the CPA meet. The party's grumbling about the cancellation of the permission given earlier is well founded because the government did not see a similar threat in the Paltan Maidan rally of the ruling four-party alliance. The AL has interpreted the action as a bid to 'avenge' the CPA boycott, and hastened to add that it laid bare the 'autocratic' character of the government.

The two sides are trying to undermine each other with the tenacity needed in top-flight political encounters, but the image of the country has been a sad casualty.

Now, what are the other parties doing all this time? There is news about the Jatiya Party (JP). Its disintegration was complete with the emergence of three JPs after HM Ershad failed to keep the party together when it lost its position as a challenger to the big two. The latest news is that the party leaders are examining the possibility of reuniting, perhaps more out of a political expediency than a principled stand.

The thought that must have influenced the JP(s) leaders more than anything else is the success of electoral alliances formed by the AL and the BNP during the last two elections. However, it is still not clear how far the three JPs can go since the disintegration of the party had pushed some of its front-ranking leaders towards the 'main camps'. Their political identity was greatly overshadowed by their newfound rapport with either the BNP or the AL. It will be interesting to see how the JP leaders handle the situation.

They may also ask themselves whether the risk is worth taking, since even a reunited JP may not click the way the leaders would like it to.

Jamilur Rahman is an Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.