Light is there

[This was published on 12 February on Daily Observer and  on 28 January in Burma Times in 2015]

Bangladesh has been passing through a very critical phase of political chaos, conflicts and instabilities affecting people from all walks of life starting from micro to macro levels that arise from continuous long-standing stand-off involving calls and observance of blockades, seizes and strikes of different forms, scales and dimensions by the opposition 20-party alliance led by BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Moot point  rotates around opening dialogue by the party-in-power headed by Sheikh Hasina for holding elections to the 11^th Parliament udder a non-party, neutral Care-Taker Government so that, unlike the so-called elections of 05January 2014,  maximum guarantee can be ensured for a free and free elections under all the circumstances, approving or not. Meanwhile attention-grabbing points have been placed from various quarters to find a solution from practical standpoints covering political scientists and veteran political leaders. Of them two are very important and touchy.

Firstly, in an Interview with the leading Bangla Daily Protham Alo on 12 January 2015, Professor Dr. Emajuddin Ahmed, a foremost political scientist in South Asia and now also think-tank of BNP, with serious assertion and emphasis noted that ’’there is nothing wrong if there is an election to the 11th Parliament keeping the ongoing Prime Minster as head of election-time administration’. Secondly, after a week in line with Dr. Emajuddun Ahmed, interestingly enough, Former President if Bangladesh Professor Dr. B. Chowdhury, a leading political stalwart and founding President of Bikalpadhara, while talking to waiting media persons  outside the main gate of the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s office at Gulshan  on 25 January 2015  meaningfully observed that ‘There may be an election to the 11^th Parliament under the present Prime Minister since this is an established convention/norm in a parliamentary democracy’ adding further that ‘in that case Prime Minister needs to be impartial in words and actions’. This deserves to be earmarked as follows:

*Both of them are highly educated, aged and experienced enough on all counts from Bangladesh perspective;

*Both of them are officially prone towards BNP, although Professor Emajuddin is directly linked with BNP while at present Professor B. Chowdhury is not(need not to forget that he was the founder SG of BNP and he left BNP because of solemn disagreement with its leaderships);

*Both of them are seriously critical of so-called 05 January 2014 elections to the 10^th Parliament and its immediate product ‘Hasina led grand alliance administration’;

*Professor Emajuddin is a political scientist of the first water while Professor B. Chowdhury is a veteran politician with demonstrable integrity and sophistication and hence, one is pandit and other is activist but they started walking along the same trajectory.

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At least there arises a common approach to the holding of next general elections to the 11^th Parliament, which was not seen in the immediate past even. It’s a kind of one step forward within the anti-Awami fold. Therefore, the asking is how can the Prime Minister in our perspective be made impartial?

This may be one of the virtual certainties if the recommendations as follows are duly taken care of:

*Firstly, let us take a courageous conclusion that here in Bangladesh democracy must/should denote democracy in our contexts, not after the Westminster model in toto. Westminster model may be a guide and inspiration. Borrowing from other models of the same spirit and inputs is as well unavoidable and coveted for. Therefore, overall characteristics of socio-economic-politico-religious landscapes and standing of Bangladesh and its people stand vital and considerable while talking of democracy. Both Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia are products of such environs. What they did in addition is that they have sharpened, boiled and cemented the lines of differences and antagonisms giving birth to politics of confrontations from micro to macro levels as if virtually there remains no point of return to reach at mutually rewarding settlement for the sake of national interests and necessities.

*Secondly, both Sheikh Haina and Begum Khaleda Zia are roots of disunity leading to conflicts and similarly both of them are symbol of national unity since the nation is diametrically divided into two opposing camps under their leaderships. Such landscape is both an opportunity as well as an obstacle. The golden key to convert such standing into a diamond situate is the acceptance and practice of statesmanship. It’s very much possible since there is a light because nature itself carries the truth that there must be light after dark and vice versa (see the replacement of day and night in a continuous process). So, Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia cannot for a long be away from such lesson of the nature. Even though if they try otherwise, be sure, hardly can they continue in the politics and statesmanship of Bangladesh.

*Thirdly, look at the formula placed by Hasina before elections to the 10^th Parliament that elections, following the verdict of the Appellate Division of the SC and the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act of 2011, should be held keeping her as PM of the elections-time administration. And to suit the very purposes, portfolios of the ministries should be distributed between the parties to the elections that is largely between AL and BNP. Necessary reforms should be stricken to Election Commission along with other measures that are essential for ensuring free and fair elections. Hasina’s approach was a broad-based approach that could be discussed and modified, curtailed and amended through dialogue between AL and BNP. Although it failed because of lack of consensus between these two major political parties, there is no denying the fact that still remains there enough scopes, possibilities and viabilities to break the ice and deadlock; Or

* Let BNP come forward with a pragmatic, accommodating formula paying due attention and weight to the reality of the verdict of the SC to scrap the existence of non-party, neutral care-taker government for holding elections to Parliament and the provisions inserted accordingly into the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act of 2011. More BNP comes to reality, more AL needs to be sliding from egotism allowing necessary space for reaching at a consensus formula. Let the policy of ‘give and take’ prevail over rigid and parochial partisan approaches and thus let them embrace ‘policy of time, space and dimension’.

Here the recent indecent happening entering Sheikh Hasina’s obstructed visit to Khalada Zia’s Gulshan’s office (where she has been now staying for a long) to meet her for expressing her (Sheikh Hasina)) motherly feeling at the death of latter’s youngest son Arafat Rahman who died at Bangkok on 24 January 2015 should not under any circumstances be an issue at all. Exhibiting of Sheikh Hasina’s statesmanship is highly desirable in this regard.

And recall that Sheikh Hasina is pledge-bound to go for elections to the 11^th Parliament since, knowing that 05 January 2014 elections would not be inclusive and publicly acceptable, she had no choice but to go for elections to the 10^th Parliament simply because of a constitutional obligation and continuity. It happened in 1989 and 1996 and in both cases popular sovereignty won in the end. Therefore, let her now be fair, free and visionary to her pre-electoral pledge to the nation and proceed with a bent of democratic mind and flavor to play her historic role in the continuity and proliferation of democracy and democratic institutions in Bangladesh. Let Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia bear in mind that democracy does not entail electoral democracy only rather its ambits are very broad and multi-faceted. In fact, democracy is a swelling concept that passes through processes from which originates sustainable democracy and upon the maturity of which depends sustainable democracy. And a state can be called a democratic state when its democracy achieves a point of sustainability as a whole. Allowing of any practice of authoritarianism under any form or dimension in a democracy is clearly a threat to its budding and sustainability. No party is voted for sine die and hence, election means determination of tenure of life in power. Seat of power is musical in nature and spirit.

Yes, before signing off, let us not forget to note, like in the past, that the very initiative including few hours hunger-strike of Jatio Party Chairman and former President HM Ershad to play duly for overcoming the years-long stalemate shall mist in the moist given that he is known as the most ever impulsive and undependable political leader in the politics of Bangladesh. He was CMLA (meaning cancellation of my last announcement because what he promises today forgets tomorrow and then speaks otherwise without a sense of feeling shame at all) in the past, he is CMLA at present and he shall remain CMLA even in future. With all his lessons, understanding and experience, it is believed, he could have become a potential resource and melting point for Bangladesh, its people and politics. But as ill luck would have it, swindling and dwindling still continue as his essential parts and parcels. His becoming adviser to the Prime Minister is another standing hurdle for his acceptability to the opposition including Begum Khaleda Zia.