AWAMI League's (AL) recent humiliating defeat in the five city corporation elections has put the party in disarray. It seems to be trying desperately to lift itself through its usual verbose propaganda that those election results do not reflect public opinion against the party but against the candidates who claimed to have obtained the blessing of the party. A large section of the people think that this propaganda does not hold any ground, as they saw how the stalwarts of AL campaigned for Mr. Azmat Ullah Khan who lost the election by a large margin despite the government's support.
The danger of yet another drubbing in the ensuing national election is looming large for AL as its more than 4 'A years of rule has proved to be anti-people. Instead of introspecting on the causes of such unprecedented defeat of AL supported candidates in the local government elections, especially when election to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) is only a few month away, Al is busy finding excuses to thwart the national election by clinging on to its stand of holding it under an interim government headed by the PM, which is opposed tooth and nail by almost the entire nation.
The Al, it is alleged, has become arrogant about power or may be more arrogant about the source of power because of its brute majority at the JS, which enables it to legislate any rule that it thinks can catapult it to power in the next election. Mr. Sajeeb Wazed, the son of our honourable PM, has claimed that he has authentic intelligence that AL will swing back to power by winning the ensuing election. On this belief AL has locked horns with the most popular opposition alli-ance headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Al is making inflammatory insinuations involving the 18-party alliance and is unleashing the state machinery to create a situation that may force BNP not to participate in the election, which will be extremely dam-aging for our nation. The bone of contention, as reflected in the actions and utterances of AL leaders, is its opposition to holding of the next general election
under a neutral caretaker government (CTG).
The people have not forgotten that AL itself spilled a lot of blood in 1996 to force the BNP government to relent to the claim that only a neutral CTG could ensure free and fair election on a level playing field. Paradoxically, AL is smelling a rat in the neutral CTG today, and is now plowing a lonely furrow to hold thenext election under an interim government headed by the party in power.
Increasing insularity is fuelling the government's arrogance and that is why the majority of the people are anchoring their hopes on the BNP led 18-party alliance. The party in power has its hands full with problems like the scams in Padma Bridge, Stock Exchange, Destiny and Sonali Bank, and spiraling corruption in all sectors of the administration, poor performance in our foreign affairs, loss of GSP facility, failure to get the Teesta Deal signed, and inability to convince India to return our enclaves are a few glaring examples of its failure. Why is AL, one wonders, compounding the problems, especially in the last months of its tenure? It is preposterous for AL to think that its strong-arm tactics will enable it to calm the opposition.
History is replete with examples that even all 'pow-erful' democratically elected leaders who became autocratic fell like ninepins in the of face public agitation. Those despotic 'leaders' thought that the citizens were nothing but straws upon the winds of their caprice and that is why they dispatched true democracy into the debris of the past and replaced it by muscular democracy.
It is the government that should take initiatives to bring the opposition to a dialogue to resolve the issue of the CTG as the term of the current parliament ends later this year. People are unsure about any fruitful political dialogue in our country unless it is decided at the summit level. Let there be unconditional dialogue outside the parliament between the two top leaders of the two major political parties to work out a formula for holding the elections that will meet the aspirations of the people. Then the secretaries general of both parties can dovetail the details with the assistance of party stalwarts and experts. JS can then come into play for the passage of the bill as there is no provision for referendum in the constitution any more.
One is hearing SOS calls from every nook and corner of the country to stop bloodletting, which has become the order of the day due to the highhandedness of law enforcers. The only way that can ensure return of normalcy in law and order is the resolution of the neutral CTG issue. All parties will be constrained to show respect to any decision taken concertedly by the two major parties in an atmosphere of concord and amity. Let us rise to save democracy, which is not a Herculean task if there is political will.
The writer is a former Director General of BUSS.