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Cat and mouse game
THERE may be little substance In whatever passes off as politics In this country, but one must agree there is plentiful slapstick comedy in it that keeps entertaining us all the year round. Play-acting or playing to the gallery is all that most of our politicians are good at. And for that they want a return of the traditional politics. Oh, how they miss those public meetings where they could foul-mouth the opposition! But when it comes to doing something worthwhile for the nation, they are nowhere to be seen.
Right at the moment we are thoroughly enjoying the cat and mouse and hide and seek game being played by various actors on stage. Think for a while, when it is about catching a small fry, our
brave, dutiful, uncompromising and impartial policemen will raid his village and round up fifty men, women and children and lock them up in the thana locker. Then they will ask those wailing humans to lead them to the den of the small fry if they wanted to avoid severe punishment. A three-year old child will cry for food but the extremely dutiful policemen will threaten the child's mother with separating them unless and until she gives them a satisfactory answer.
There are two lovely things about those small fries. One, they will sell one or two cows to pay their way out of the locker; two, they do not possess a ladder long enough to reach the high and
mighty to lodge a complaint. To them, the police are the highest and cruellest symbol of power in the country. To them, police is the father and mother, as the saying goes in Bangla in this country.
But tlie scenario takes a total u-turn when it comes to arresting a big fry. Here begins the cat and mouse game. The police would raid the residence knowing fully well that the big fry was very much present in his office. The police would then declare him absconding even though he would be seen talking to the media or even to some bigger fries at level one. He would be seen shaking hands with the bigger fries, thereby making all of us look like fools. There would be none around to explain any-
thing about this wonderful example of justice undelivered.
There is discrimination among the big fries as well. Not all big fries are equal. Some are more equal than others. For example, if one has the branding mark of any religion based party on the back then he will be treated differently by the administration and by the police. He will go around with an air of someone who has direct communication with the divine administration. You touch him, you burn in hell. Incredible? But manydo believe so.
You want more examples of discriminatory treatment among the big fries? Well, there is this big...big fry with spiked hair who has been living in a hospital cabin
for the last 16 months! But he was supposed to have been In a normal jail cell living like a criminal! This guy is reported to have taken a stupendously huge sum of money to send a murder accomplice across the borders to safety. Imagine our ordinary Kofilla dakait getting such treatment! Impossible? No, brother. He will get the same treatment as soon as he becomes "somebody."
Then we watched the new game played by the political parties. The game is called "Dodging Registration." It was a highly entertaining game where the parties kept the EC, the government and the nation guessing till the last day -- "will they register...will they not register., will they come today....will they come tomorrow....?" It seems some of the major parties finally got tired of running around in a circle and decided to register their parties with the EC. Now, they will jump into action to influence the voters to get elected.
Well, there is more. Look at the hide and seek game being played by the reformists and nonreformists (netri-ponthis). Here the reformists are those who hide, and the netri-ponthis are those who seek. When the latter get hold
of the former they beat the hell out of them. It is happening all over the country. The fault of the reformists is that they had talked in favour of bringing about qualitative changes in the party constitution and leadership, and also in the way they have been running the country. So much for qualitative changes in politics. But, have you noticed something? No political leader, or even the chairperson, has ever condemned such attacks or sent word to their supporters not to engage in such shameful activities.
It is becoming more and more obvious that reforms are not at the top of the agenda of the political parties. Whatever changes will take place will be done to keep the people and the media at bay. All power will remain concentrated in the hands of the president or chairperson of the party. You know why? Because, in any given party, no one trusts anyone else. They do not believe in democratic distribution of power amongst themselves, as they do not have faith in themselves. That is why they stand behind the netri and frantically try to be seen on camera. A pitiful lot, some of them really.
Shahnoor Wahrf is a Senw Aswtant Editor al
The Darty Star