& 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

Clarity, the crucially missed link

SHAH HUSAIN IMAM
MY esteemed colleague in this paper, Executive Editor Syed Badrul Ahsan, wrote on what he terms 'Sheikh Basina's legacy' in his last Wednesday column.
One would have much rather he had phrased it as Hasina governments' 'performance' or 'scorecard' spanning two tenures and blended his nar-
rative with an element of critiquing by way of being a 'critic is your best friend' with a directional way forward note appended to it. However, I cannot be oblivious of the fact that he had done so in some measure before and would do it again when he deems fit.
That said, let me turn to the milestones with buntings that my colleague flagged astride the path Sheikh Hasina has trodden. I am entirely in agreement with his recital of her high water marks—annulment of Indemnity Ordinance paving the way for trial and punishment of assassins of Bangabandhu with all but two members of his family; 'reordering of investigations into the November 1975 killings of four Mujibnagar government leaders;' the trial of collaborators of Pakistan army; transparent legal proceedings launched in 10-truck arms haul case and the
August 2004 grenade explosions case. Quite deservingly, credit has also been given to Sheikh Hasina for her stern action against attempted obscurantist siege at the centre of Dhaka as well as a resounding denial of space to terrorists aiming to 'undermine other countries.' Her handling of extremists or their ethos has been astutely surgical, one has to add.
Her government's performance in agriculture, food security, social safety networking and edu-
cation is notable, too.
Premised on such strong points of her incumbency, one feels Sheikh Hasina should be only confident, politically generous and constitutionally accommodative on the issue of nonpartisan interim caretaker arrangement to oversee the next general election. The fulcrum of the dispute is finding a reputed neutral person mutually acceptable to both Awami League and BNP to head a council of advisers made up of MPs from both parties.
This is one of an array of options circulating in the speculative domain, such as Speaker or
If the AL is serious in pooling the floating voters who decide the fate of elections it will have to send conducive signals to them about a well-participated broad-based election.
President heading an interim arrangement with powers of certain crucial ministries delegated to the Election Commission. One recalls Sheikh Hasina having said she was 'making an investment' when electing Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury as Speaker.
The point is if Sheikh Hasina listens to Rousseau's sovereignty of general will she cannot misread the pulse of the people, the barometer of public opinion favouring a negotiated settlement of the controversy over pre-poll time government. Khaleda Zia by conceding caretaker system under popular pressure might have lost her high wattage star quality and consequently the election. By the same token, some political observers believe were Hasina to yield ground on a nonpartisan interim modality for the next general election she too might lose the election. Not necessarily, because the circumstances stacked against Khaleda Zia at that time were different from what they are at present vis-a-vis Hasina.
An undercurrent of view is that if Sheikh
Hasina sounds conciliatory on the caretaker issue drawing upon the reservoir of political wisdom of the old Awami League, she can cut a deal with the opposition and yet retain the potential for a reelection. It won't be read as a sign of weakness; instead, the nation will heave a sigh of relief over the prospect of peaceful transfer of power. Time for Hasina is running out to seize the initiative positively rather than negatively from the opposition's hands. It is in her, more than in Khaleda Zia, to be a game changer with a single act of generosity that can buttress her chances at the polls as well. If she bends over backwards, she will be in a better position to play her continuation of development card during her campaign for reelection. That way, the positives of her achievements might swamp the negatives.
Remember, BNP-led 18 party alliance has nearly as much of a hardcore vote bank as the AL-led Mohajote—inside of 40% of the electorate or thereabouts. In the event that 40% do not go to polls along with a considerable percentage of undecided voters, a respectable voter turnout is ruled out. What happens then to the legitimacy of the government born of a one-sided election, let alone a plethora of questions over the credibility of the polls?
To my mind, if the AL is serious in pooling the floating voters who decide the fate of elections it will have to send conducive signals to them about a well-participated broad-based election. And who make up a sizeable swathe of floating voters; evidently, the new generation of voters who have acquired eligibility during the last five years to be on the electoral roll. The party which succeeds in reaching out to them will come out as the winner, something both parties need to bear in mind with great amount of sensibility.
If you put the same ingredients into the mixture it would turn out similar results all the time. So, we have to put new elements into the grinder so as to produce a new result—a solution.
The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star. E-mail: husain.imam@thedailystar.net