& 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

Floodgates of suspicions

Mahfuzur Rahman
THE enthusiasm for Bangladesh democracy's march forward is set to receive a further blow as the politi-A cal battle between the ruling and the opposition alliances over the election-time cabinet has taken an uglier turn in recent weeks. If the language of our political leaders is any indication, it can be said for sure that the spread of democracy and the traditional values of Bangladesh society are at stake. It all began with the dumping of the caretaker government system, and then came the blogger-Hefajat issue apart from the high-profile corruption scandals. Nothing more is needed for the incumbents to go further down the hill.
To make matters worse, the government has created an unnecessary controversy over the resignation of its ministers and state ministers, exposing its dysfunctional political strategies. The intention behind the much-hyped but imprudent way of en masse resignation was to create a psychological pressure on the main opposition BNP that 'you come and join the allparty government or else we will go on our own.' But that trick
The intention behind the much-hyped but imprudent way of en masse resignation ivas to create a psychological pressure on the main opposition BNP that 'you come and join the all-party government or else ive will go on our own.' But that trick has backfired.
has backfired.
Another ill-advised decision of the government that has put the opposition on a sympathy wave is the arrest of top BNP leaders. In this case too, the government has failed to achieve its reported goal - bringing the BNP stalwarts into its fold through negotiations in jail.The ruling party leadership needs to understand that when there is more repression then its losses will be greater in the end as people do not like negative politics. The opposition alliance's last spell of shutdown would have turned out to be a pointless exercise had the government not gone for the mass arrest. In politics, decision making is more important than muscle flexing.
Good leaders are those who can foresee and take strategic decisions. Good leaders can influence and inspire people to achieve a greater goal. If we take a look at our current political landscape, the picture is really pitiable. It has been a long time since we heard a speech that can rouse the nation. Instead, we wake up every day to venomous speeches and character assassination by our leaders. We get frustrated when we see our leaders inaugurating insignificant development projects and then delivering speeches making scathing attacks on their opponents. Things would have been different today had our leaders been able to work together with a greater consensus on national issues. But that is not to be. Ours is a political history that is mired in character assassination and soaked in blood.
After the fall of military ruler H.M. Ershad, it looked as if the country would move towards the right direction. But that hope got dashed before long. Now our much-sought democracy looks damaged as the national politics is poisoned with intolerance.
Now even many ardent Awami League and BNP admirers admit that the country would not have seen this escalation of violence had the leaders of the two major parties not maneuvered to perpetuate their power during their own regimes by manipulating the caretaker government system. The problem with our leaders is rooted in the contradictor}' nature of their leadership. They say one thing when in power and drum up another when in the opposition. Their contradictory activities only open the floodgates of suspicions.