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If the people are the source of power...

Martin Adhikary
PEOPLE are the source of all authority and power in any democratic country. But in Bangladesh this saying has been proved enough to have been empty political jargon and demagogy. Our political leaders are often heard to say that people are the source of power. But they do not have respect for the people in general and for their hopes and wishes. We are rendered helpless at the whims and their capricious politics. Above all considerations, democracy, as we have it in the oft quoted saying of Abraham Lincoln, is "a government of the people, by the people and for the people". This has ever since uttered by Lincoln the simplest and fondest definition of democracy. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh this has been a misnomer at least from the point of view of practice.
The tenth sovereign Parliament of the country is going to be created through the next general election to be held on any day by 24 January, 2014, but within the period of three months before that date. Gitizens of the country are getting more and more concerned over what we may happen in the country politically. Already millions of dollars worth of damages have been wrought due to strikes and all the paraphernalia related to them during the last 3-4 years. There seems to be no compromise and neither any prospect mutually agreed upon dialogue between the ruling party and the alliance of the opposition in the house of the parliament. Almost every day columnist and journalists write in favor of dialogue between the ruling party and the parties in opposition. Nothing appears to avail any tangible good result. Our leaders are talkative people, indeed! They don't seem to love our people. They hear their opponents, but do not listen to them! The result is a deplorable continuation of political evils, killing of innocent human persons. It appears that we live in a reign of terror. Nobody's life seems to be safe and secure. The invitation of the government to the Opposition leaders for "dialogue" is still unheeded. Perhaps not without a reason since they do not see any positive outcome, at least from their perspective. Officially we live in a democratic country. But in practice our democracy is now terror-stricken because of our power hungry politicians. People everyday get more and more traumatized, made hostage to the whims of the ruffians on the streets on hartal days. Politicians seem to be the owners of this country. Our lives seem to be at their mercy.
One of the basic tenets of our State is our commitment to democracy. Should the very technical reason
with which the present government has been able to remove the provision of a Care Taker government through an enactment of the parliament be deemed enough reason for doing away with the need for a Care Taker government? Do all people elected by the citizens represent the nation in the legislature really represent the wishes and hopes of the nation in the end? In most cases the questions remains to be answered. They do not fulfill their pledges and promises made before their election. This is a sad trait of character with most of the representatives in the house of Parliament. So being the majority should not make them entirely authoritative and commanding the life and political aspirations of the people that have voted them to power. Is there much logic in what our honorable Prime Minister believes about the formation of an interim government with non-elected people? Are all non-elected people insane or incapable? Does it guarantee that all elected people or people, who are elected to positions, are the only good and trustworthy ones in the country and as such only they represent the wishes and hopes of the nation? There are some non-parliamentarians in the Cabinet of ministers with very important port folios.
Peoples' 1 ives are oppressed by corruption, hartals and all that they today mean. Corruption is rampant today in all government departments. Working for bribes make justice illusive and bred inefficiency and lethargy. Hoarding of unaccountable money lie behind black money causing price-hikes for everything. The cost of living goes up so that only the rich only can enjoy life while the rest of the people must struggle and suffer to meet their needs. The credibility of individuals and government goes down and mass of people lose their confidence and hope in the leaders. We now live in a country where the rich people are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Certainly this was not a country that the father of our nation and all other heroes of our liberation war had the vision for. This is more than transparent that most of our corrupt politicians have no love and concern for the ordinary people. They idolize and worship position and power even at the point of making our lives hellish for the sake of making their ambition and lust for power. Most people now in the country would like the leaders engage in a dialogue. Let peoples' wish be respected. Now grant us respite!