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President had to sing Hasina's song

The truth is that the president did not prepare this address. It is the cabinet that finalised and approved the president's address as per the rules of business of the government.

Shakhawat Liton
IF one goes through the president's address to the inaugural sitting of the 10th Parliament, one will not find any reference to any mistake, wrongdoing or failure of the immediate past government. President Abdul Hamid, in his 18-page address, portrayed a rosy picture of the past government's performance. He even claimed that the grand alliance government led by Sheikh Hasina has been fully successful in building a progressive, prosperous, modern and non-communal Bangladesh based on the spirit of the Liberation War, and establishing rule of law through holding trials of war criminals.
Thus, the president's address gave an impression that in the past five years there were no share market, Sonali Bank Hall-Mark loan and Padma Bridge project scams; no withdrawal of more than 7,000 cases earlier filed against AL men; no repression of the opposition by filing dozens of politically motivated cases against senior BNP leaders and putting them behind bars to thwart their anti-government movement; no violent and unruly behaviour by some ruling party MPs and activists with impunity; no extra-judicial killings by law enforcers; no forced disappearances; no presidential clemency to convicted killers; and no paralysing of the local government system and crippling of the AntiCorr u p t i o n commissi o n.
Many other incidents occurred in the past five years for which the government was strongly criticised. Many AL MPs have strongly criticised the government for its failure to act properly on some crucial issues, including the massive share market scam and Sonali Bank Hall-Mark loan scandal. But all these issues were overlooked completely by the president in his address, and he wholeheartedly lauded the performance of Hasina's past government.
The so-called overwhelming successes as described in the president's address, however, could not ensure winning of the people's minds. The humiliating defeat of AL-backed mayoral candidates to the BNP-supported contenders in the five city corporation elections held in the middle of last year exposed the waning popularity of AL within a span of four
and a half a years since it won a landslide in December 29, 2008 general election. People would have voted for the AL-backed candidates had the government's overall performance won their hearts. The BNP-led alliance very effectively used the government's failure to deliver on some crucial national issues. However, BNP's boycott of the January 5 parliamentary election was a blessing for the AL as it won a three-fourth majority.
It is very natural that the Hasina government will keep on vehemently defending the January 5 one-sided and controversial parliamentary election. The reason is clear. The election gave birth to the current parliament and the government. But the 10th Parliament did not elect Hamid as the president. He was elected by the 9th Parliament formed through a widely accepted election held in December 2008. So, he did not need to defend the January 5 election. But in his speech he repeatedly labelled the January 5 election as free and impartial. He claimed that "by reelecting this government, people have given them the mandate for building a Bangladesh in the light of the spirit of the great Liberation War, free from hunger, poverty, terrorism and communalism." In his view, the people cast their votes 'spontaneously.'
This claim is a distortion of facts. More than half of the 9.19 crore voters were denied the right to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives due to the unprecedented nature of the election. As many as 154 MPs, more than half of the total 300, were elected uncontested without a single vote being cast. Even the president himself could not cast his vote as the candidate in the constituency where he was registered as voter was elected unopposed. AL effectively managed the election by sharing seats with its alliance partners. In the remaining seats, voter turnout was low. The Election Commission put the turnout at 40% against a more than 87% turnout in the 2008 election. Given the facts, it is difficult to say that the January 5 election was free and impartial, and that the people have given AL the mandate.
The president hoped the new parliament "shall be an ever vigilant sentinel of democracy,
development and rule of law." How is it possible for this unusual parliament with no real opposition to meet the president's expectation?
He made another distorted claim. In his address he said: "For the first time, an elected government handed over power to another elected government by upholding the constitution. This has been a remarkable achievement in the area of democratic continuity." This is a reflection of Hasina's earlier claim made on January 19. But the fact is that the February 15, 1996 parliamentary election held under the then BNP-led government had seen the same phenomenon. So, the president's claim is not true.
The president claimed that a fresh spirit has been infused in various spheres of national life after assumption of office by the newly formed government. But the reality is different. The country has landed into a new state of political uncertainty. In his address, he acknowledged this indirectly by urging BNP to reach a consensus through dialogue by shunning the path of confrontation and anarchy. In so doing, the president put the onus on BNP for holding talks. He also urged BNP to cut ties with communal and terrorist organisations. He did not name any party, but it is clear that he meant Jarnaat, a key ally of BNP. He made this statement in line with the Sheikh Hasina-led government's stance on it. Will it be democracy if the BNP has to follow the diktat of the government to cut ties with a party? Should we not allow the people to decide it?
The crucial question is why did President Abdul Hamid, who has a long political career and is a widely acceptable person, deliver such an address to the inaugural sitting of the new parliament? The truth is that he did not prepare this address. It is the cabinet that finalised and approved the president's address as per the rules of business of the government. The president just let the cabinet to mindlessly use his high office to propagate a campaign for their partisan interests. In doing so, Hasina's government has proved that it will not hesitate to abuse any institution for its own interests.
The writer is Senior Reporter, The Daily Star.