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Leaders' euphoria imperils politics

We need to find an antidote immediately to save our democracy, our economy and our values lest they should be engulfed by an all-devouring turmoil which looms large. The feeling that our leaders are invincible and unmatchable has to be challenged, which will be possible if only we construct and consolidate institutionalised politics.

Z.A. Khan
IT is axiomatic that politics in Bangladesh does not centre around peoples' aspirations any longer. Today we witness a numbed despair among our polity because of the worsening political environment due to predominance of guns, goons and gold. Most people think that this is happening because of the leaders' patronisation.
One does feel the wind of chilling disregard of many towards our leadership, which could be a prelude to a backlash. A mild tumult has already set into our political environment, which may snowball into a climate of collapse that may not augur well for the sustenance of our democracy, rule of law and economic development.
I feel that it is our responsibility to evaluate the current confrontational political situation to find out as to what has prompted our otherwise vibrant politics to come to such a pass that people seem to have been seized with a vague disquiet. Will it be conjecture if I assume that the people are losing interest because their leaders have failed to deliver time and again?
When asked as to what may come of it, they remind me about Parkinson's Law, which is "work will always last as long as time is available for it." Is this an outburst of enormous frustration or an expression of fierce scorn?
During the last two decades we got the opportunity to exercise our rights of franchise four times. In all these elections the incumbent party had to eat the humble pie of defeat for its unsatisfactory performance.
Succinctly, winning and losing in all these elections depended largely on the top leaders, who are hardly aware of grassroot politics because they did not have to earn leadership, which was thrust upon them due to accidental death of their predecessors. Once catapulted to the driving seat they relished the associated privilege, leaving routine politics in the hands of leaders of their choice — who were far more interested in keeping their top leader happy rather than in the popular politics.
Thus, a new brand of leaders mushroomed, who managed to occupy enviable positions by using the power of gold and gun. Top leaders who hitherto felt insecure missed no opportunity to rally the support of these as they were bent upon climbing the ladder of name and fame by hook or by crook. The entire nation had to accept captivity under these muscle-flexing leaders either for patronisation or for protection.
In the melee, the politics of value was thrown into shadows of oblivion, creating discords that distorted the harmony and moral fabric of our society. Our nation, in the meantime, got divided into two streams, which were separated from each other by an impenetrable wall of prejudice and blindness. There was hostility and jealousy because the leadership was endowed to the families that did not see each other eye to eye.
These new leaders left no stone unturned to draw the coveted attention of their top leaders even by skullduggery and sycophancy. They resorted to slyness and deceit to impress their
leaders, and falsely claimed a negative situation to be a prosperous and popular one. This had added to the leaders' belief that their personal popularity was monumental and momentous.
To the utter dismay of the saner segment of our polity, the top leaders enjoyed the hero worship of the aspiring flashy leaders who were otherwise regarded as disruptive elements that threatened to destroy social values. Nurturing the belief that what did not suit their political design could not hold good for the nation, the leadership parted ways from the time-tested adage "treat formidableness as foe and value as an ally."
Chastised with the belief that one should not worship the goddess of lubricity but the goddess of morality, the time-tested leaders who were in obscurity ventured to stage a comeback But the exercise was aborted because of the muscle-flexing new leaders and the media, assisted by a pliant civil society, which kept changing sides. Even public abhorrence has failed to make the single-mindedness of the leadership flexible and reform-friendly.
Are we then expected to indulge in changing our values to add to the euphoria of the leaders? Indeed, we have propelled their euphoria by standing at a distance while their party henchmen loudly propagated that their leaders could commit no wrong.
This has not only caused a slowdown of the development of our democracy but has also inhibited the zeal of our rising middle class, which is supposed to play a vital role in enlightening our people about democratic values. Is it not a ploy to diminish any opposition to the leaders' euphoria that there is no alternative to their leadership?
I think we should not remain resigned to the prevailing political situation as a fait accompli as our life is not long enough to bring about reform in our political culture. Our politics has indeed reached a nerve-wracking juncture.
We need to find an antidote immediately to save our democracy, our economy and our
values lest they should be engulfed by an all-devouring turmoil which looms large. The feeling that our leaders are invincible and unmatchable has to be challenged, which will be possible if only we construct and consolidate institutionalised politics.
Since ours is a democratic country, we should religiously adhere to the parliamentary stipulations and should not condone any lapse in the way of making the Jatiya Shangshad the centre of all political activities.
The Election Commission (EC) should be made strong enough to stipulate provisions to force the parties to follow their constitutions in letter and spirit after they have been vetted by the EC. Any violation should warrant the EC's admonishment and legal dispensation. The EC's decision should be legally cleared by the judicial branch so that any violation can be treated as contempt of court.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) should be staffed with persons of integrity whose character, honesty and firmness in giving judgement cannot be questioned. None should escape the ACC's supervision. If somebody's actions go against its acts and provisions he/she should be put through the legal procedure.
The government should extend all-out cooperation to the institutions of civil administration that are designed to protect the political system so that leaders cannot utilise them for informal and gainful purposes. Any tampering of their rules should be handled fairly and firmly.
The nation should embolden itself to remove the facade of greatness of the leaders who are undeserving. Sincere leaders with unremitting commitment to serve the people with undiminished zeal, and who are honest to the penny, should emerge from the current political debris and take charge of our political and moral development.
ZA Khan isaformer Director General, BUSS.