Sheikh Saadi said, “A monkey is enough to destroy a well-groomed garden.” And it is known to all that a little bit of lime can spoil a glass of milk. Similarly, the incompetence, conspiracy and ambition of one or two individuals can make a government controversial and put it in peril.
A similar thing can be said about the current interim government. It took office with a huge public support just a few months ago but is now under various pressures. No one has any objections to its Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus. He can be revered as the conscience of the nation. And everyone hopes that his worthy guardianship will help Bangladesh overcome its current political turmoil. But the roles of many individuals by his side are now rather controversial and questionable.
On Saturday and Sunday, leaders of various political parties including BNP, Jamaat and NCP held a meeting with the chief advisor to talk about the ongoing political crisis in the country. The differences of opinions between the interim government and the political parties became obvious at the meeting. The political parties are not satisfied with the way the interim government is running the country. Each party wants a specific action plan from the government.
But it is not yet visible. The political parties have raised questions about the role of some individuals within the government. Not only the political parties but also the common people are increasingly growing suspicious about how these individuals have come to occupy important positions in the government and what they actually want to do. Many believe that it is because of these individuals that the Yunus government is failing to move towards the right goal. Some are talking about issues beyond their rights and responsibilities. Some are inciting depoliticisation. Many are speaking openly about their intention to stay in power for a long time. This is creating instability and political divisions.
It must be remembered that the very rats that reside in the household cut its bamboo. A good initiative often fails because of treachery of the traitors in the house. This government formed after the July Revolution will also fail if it cannot clean up the garbage in the house. So, Dr. Yunus must be strict with those people.
Some of those skilled masters who devised the '1-11' plan are now occupying very powerful positions at various levels in this government.
This section of the civil society always wants to keep Bangladesh away from elections and democracy. They want to establish an unelected government. There are many members of the advisory council, the National Consensus Commission, members of various reform commissions and various special assistants to the chief advisor who played controversial roles during the time of 1-11. They felt no obligation towards democracy and the people. Some advisors are getting involved in several controversial activities, keeping the chief advisor in the dark. Now questions have been raised about how and why these people were appointed to high positions in the interim government.
Let's take the complication that has arisen centering the mayoral post of the South City Corporation. The gazette was issued after the election tribunal's verdict, but why didn't the local government ministry arrange the oath-taking event? The ministry should have taken a quick step in this regard. They should have either complied with the court’s verdict in this regard or immediately appealed against the verdict. But why did they send the matter to the Law Department for an opinion after doing nothing for a long time?
After that, let's take the movement at Jagannath University for example. The movement went on for four consecutive days. What did the education advisor do? Why didn't he go to the spot to resolve the crisis? Why would the information advisor go there? The information advisor went there and was humiliated - did this brighten the government's image?
The financial advisor is traveling abroad and struggling to get loans. But how many meetings have he held with the private sector, the main force of the country's economy? The blueprint to destroy large industrial enterprises is being implemented. The country's 11 largest industrial enterprises are being harassed in the name of investigation. Many have their bank accounts frozen. Businessmen and investors are being harassed in fake murder cases.
On the one hand, foreign investment is being drummed up, while on the other hand, domestic enterprises are being crushed down. This dual policy will not bring any benefit to the country's economy. The nation wants to know the outcome of the grand investment conference.
The economy is being taken in the wrong direction. The dollar market has been opened for IMF loans. But has the financial advisor or the governor of Bangladesh Bank ever thought about the impact of the dollar? The hands and feet of private investors and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have been tied. In this way, the country can never move forward economically. The economy is in shambles. Have the government's responsible advisors and senior figures been held accountable for this?
Meanwhile, irresponsible behaviours and speeches of a few powerful people are also causing division in the country’s political arena. The government has formed many reform commissions. Some of these commissions are more powerful than the advisors. Their main task is to destroy national unity.
When the chief advisor was meeting with the political parties to deal with the situation, an influential member of the consensus commission said that we should also talk to the civil society. What is that civil society? (Is it the society of) a handful of civil servants who do not want elections in the country? Why was the women's reform commission formed amidst this situation? What was its importance? The interim government did not have the authority to form the media reform commission either. If the recommendations of these two commissions are reviewed, it will be seen that these reports are nothing but an attempt to divide the people. Those associated with these commissions actually want to destabilise the country.
Corruption allegations have been made against the personal officers of two advisors. Why should corruption allegations come after nine months? Why don't these advisors get news of their assistants’ corruption before? Isn't this their incompetence? We see a chaotic situation prevailing in the public administration sector. There is no improvement in the law and order situation in the country.
No one has any information about what kind of initiative the home affairs advisor is taking to improve law and order. The conflict between the advisors and special assistants has created a dual rule in the country. The question has arisen as to who is running the government. Why would the government be so proactive about the humanitarian corridor in Rakhine or the Chittagong port? Why would an advisor make controversial comments about a leader of a political party? The issues should be brought to light.
This government has taken charge based on the opinions of all political parties. It is the government's responsibility to hold regular meetings with all political parties. A special advisor has been appointed to communicate with the political parties. But the very advisor is not communicating with the political parties regularly. BNP leader Salauddin Ahmed said (on Friday) that they had been trying to meet the chief advisor for five days, but couldn’t. Finally, they met the chief advisor on Saturday. Why is there such a delay?
We hope that the government will finalise its course of action after meeting the political parties. The activities of the interim government should be limited to these three tasks - elections, reforms and justice.
Reforms, trials of mass killing and elections should be implemented with the involvement of the political parties together. A free, fair and impartial election should be held within the next 90 days and that is easily possible. Whether this government is successful or not will ultimately depend on how free, fair and participatory elections it can hold. If the government can hold the elections in the best way, then everyone will have to remember its role with reverence. But if it fails to do that, then it will have to take the blame for that. That is why we need to clean up the house first. We need to do that right away.
The writer is a playwright and columnist.
Email: [email protected]
