Awami League moves on...
Council over, Awami League moves on with Sheikh Hasina's position at the helm consolidated once more. How are the new leaders faring and what of the underlying discontent?
by ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM
Seven months have passed since the Awami League government has been installed in power and these seven months have been a period of reckoning. Supporters may claim that this period is too short a time to take stock of the party's position, but one thing is for certain. Party president Sheikh Hasina has consolidated her position in no uncertain terms. She has made no mistake this time in identifying her friends and foes and has organised the party accordingly. She has removed the "thorns" from her path and installed trusted persons in key positions. As leader of this dynamic team, Sheikh Hasina is all set to establish a "digital Bangladesh", say members of the cabinet and others in the party's new committee. These are the Chosen Ones, those who have found place in the expanded cabinet and the new committee. They are being praised and criticised alike; they are the centre of attention. This is only natural where a large and old traditional party like Awami League is concerned. Certain political observers, considered to be more or less neutral, point out that the Awami League government claims that 1/11 (the intervention of the caretaker government on January 11, 2007) and Fakhruddin's caretaker government are the result of their movement. And that is why the present government remains mum regarding any irregularities of General Moeen or Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. If that is so, then why are the reformists in the party, veteran leaders who had hobnobbed with the initiators of 1/11, paying the price for their stand? The observers say that there are bound to be varied views within a democratic party. Should leaders with different opinions then be cast to one side? They have had, after all, vast contribution to the party and the nation. As thing stand, the new leaders are still basking in felicitations and flowers. The so-called reformists are down in the dumps. An eye is being kept on the reformists -- leaders like Amu, Razzak, Tofail and Suranjit, along with about 130 MPs and their supporters and followers. A note is being kept on where they go, who they meet, who calls upon them, etc. Even their telephone calls are being recorded. All this intelligence activity has been put in place to ensure they aren't hatching any conspiracy against Hasina. Analysts say, nothing can be done against the mainstream leadership. It is simply not possible. Dr. Kamal Hossain is living proof of this. So it is not feasible for the sidelined leaders to return to the limelight. Party sources say that a presidium meeting was held before the new committee was formed. About 80% of the names put forward by the presidium members were not included in the new committee. It was the choices of Matia Chowdhury, Sajeda Chowdhury and Ashraf that found place in the new committee. Syed Ashraf in particular is a trusted one of Sheikh Hasina. His performance and abilities have given him the status of a true-blue tried and tested leader. His decisions are taken into cognizance. It is no fluke that he was given the coveted post of the party General Secretary. A certain central leader says that leaders who are presently close to Hasina, including Matia, HT Imam and Faruk Khan, may not always remain in prominence. There is all chance that they may gradually go out of focus. And the senior leaders too are nursing grievances against them; they are biding their time. Analysts say, Sheikh Hasina's calculations in forming the committee and cabinet may not be all that flawless. There is a simmering unrest, a suppressed sense of dissatisfaction. Sheikh Selim may have been kept in the new committee, but he is reportedly unhappy at not being included in the cabinet. Abul Hasnat Abdullah, who had formerly been Chief Whip, has hoped to be included in the presidium this time. He was disappointed and paid a visit to Ajmeer to assuage his grief. He has been included in the central committee, though. Bahauddin Nasim is not satisfied with his appointment as Organising Secretary. However, these leaders considered to be all in the family, are not openly expressing their discontent. Mohammed Nasim was the most active in the opposition during the rule of the four-party alliance government. He had the streets in sway. However, he was not nominated and has not been included in the presidium. The fall of this leader, son of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's close associate Mansur Ali, has surprised many. Nasim cannot figure why he has been given the cold shoulder. Similar fates have been faced by Sultan Mansur, Manna, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Mirza Sultan Raja, KM Jahangir, Mukul Bose, Mayor Mohiuddin, Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury Babu, Prof. Abu Sayeed, Omar Ali, Mustafa Rashidi Suja, Talukdar Abdul Khaleque, Saber Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan, etc. These leaders are is dismay and find it hard to accept this consequence. It is not likely that they will be able to rise again. The question being asked is whether these deprived leaders are really the victims of Sheikh Hasina's displeasure. After all, there are quite a few reformists who have been accommodated in the committee. For instance, a central leader points out, Khaled Mahmud Chowdhury MP has been made Organising Secretary. Amir Hossain Amu was made chief guest at the programme commemorating the death of his father Rauf Chowdhury. Khaled was well aware that Amu was a reformist. Khaled was in good stead of the 1/11 initiators. Another Organising Secretary Ahmed Hossain is a disciple of Tofail Ahmed. He joined each and every meeting of the reformists. Reformist Abdur Rahman is also a central member. All this has raised questions. Political observers are asking if Sheikh Hasina has deliberately carried out these manipulations on her own accord. Or did certain invisible forces hand down the list to be implemented? Hasina, after all, realises the value of experience. She had made a plethora of pledges to the people before the election. She held up a dream of digital Bangladesh. But how far will she be able to material her dream with this setup? Judging by the mountain of promises made and the performance so far, things aren't looking too rosy. Critics say that when in the government, it is hard to observe the weaknesses, particularly in the beginning. The administration is wholly involved in implementing party programmes. At the district upazila level, DCs, SPs, UNOs and OCs are ready to serve. As a result, any faults or errors of the new leaders of the party remain unnoticed. However, a time comes when their weaknesses become visible when the opposition political parties pounce upon them. That is when the trouble begins. Awami League is a traditional party. Its workers and supporters are used to be cared for, looked after and protected by their leaders. Their mindset does not quite match that of the new committee members. One third of these leaders are failing to come close to the workers and supporters. The supporters are unwilling to accept these new faces. Questions have also arisen regarding the transparency of the new leaders. Rice and wheat are normally allocated through the Food for Work Programme and Test Relief (TR) programme for the construction of small roads, digging canals, graveyards, mosques, temples, etc. But during every government, there has been a lack of clarity in these sectors. Most of the union parishad chairmen and members were elected during the last government and so are mostly of the BNP camp. It is being alleged that the leaders of the present government are forcing these chairmen and members to sign papers for non-existent projects. In some cases, both the sides are in league to pocket the TR and Food for Work funds. There are also allegations that many of the MPs have been born and brought up in the city and hardly even know their own constituencies. Taking advantage of this, allocations are being made out for non-existent cemeteries, temples, mosques, etc. Sometimes the MPs themselves are involved in these dubious schemes. Kaiser Hasnat, the Awami League MP of Narayanganj-3 has joined hands with the municipal chairman of Siddhirganj, a BNP man. They are pocketing crores of taka in tender manipulations. The MP is taking commission for various work and this is an open secret. But it is not Kaiser Hasnat alone. This is happening all over the country. MPs and their followers are involved in such corruption all over the country. In the meantime, many of the cabinet members are displaying inefficiency, failure and inability. The daylight savings programme was launched with much fanfare, but it has not made any difference to the power load-shedding. In the seven months of the government, no tender has been floated for any power station. For the last six months, secretary Nasiruddin has held on to the file pertaining to the coal-based power station. He says that the tender will be a matter of "public hearing". Bureaucrat-Advisor HT Imam has placed six of his close associates in six important posts of the power sector. Even then things aren't moving in the sector. It is alleged that HT Imam is not happy with the new bureaucrats and actually hardly knows them. He wants to control the bureaucracy in his old manner. As a result, things have ground to a virtual halt. With Ramadan ahead, the prices of essentials are spiralling out of control. Sugar has leapt to 50 taka a kg. Cooking oil has gone up by four to six taka a kg. No vegetable sells for less than 40 taka a kg. Both the Food Minister and the Commerce Minister has pointed to the extortionists for the state of prices. The Commerce Minister has called for RAB to step in to help control prices. But who are the extortionists? The opposition? Militants? The Commerce Minister hasn't clarified this. A central leader of the ruling party tells PROBE, "This is no military government that they will use RAB or the police to control prices. Such a step may just backfire." The leader goes on to say, "Faruk Khan speaks digital, but works analogue. What's the use of telling people that the prices have gone up because of the extortionists?" Meanwhile, law and order is deteriorating steadily. If the Sohel Taj resignation drama hurt the government's image, Home Minister Sahara Khatun has failed to make it up. She has, admittedly, cut down on her statements. The new State Minister for Power is going slow. His performance is uninspiring. Six months have passed and the CID has failed to come up with its report on the BDR tragedy as yet. After passing the concerned law in parliament, the government had firmly stated that trial of the war criminals would begin within seven days. However, the government hasn't formed a committee to this end as yet. There are many more instances where performance has failed to meet promises. The government pledged to ensure employment for every household. In fact, two particular ministries have ample scope to create employment -- the Ministry for Youth and Sports and the Ministries for Fisheries and Livestock. However, the respective ministers in charge of these two ministries hardly have the qualification to handle these matters. They are not qualified above the level of UP Chairman and Upazila Chairman. One can hardly expect them to tackle the task. To make matters worse, of Bangladeshi workers abroad are being laid off and sent back home. No one can really point to any success of the ministry in charge of overseas employment in preventing the loss of jobs overseas or in generating new jobs abroad. The same applies to the young Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni. No one seems to know whether she will follow the old policy in relations with India, Myanmar and the western countries or whether she will present something new. She is yet to receive kudos for her performance.. The State Minister for Law has made it apparent that he is determined to put Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury into jail. Such statements from a man in his post are not deemed very responsible. Then the sacking of two judicial officers and subsequently reinstating them has also not gone down well with the ruling party. The two concerned leaders, after all, were innocent. They had merely gone to the ministry to voice their demands. It is learnt that HT Imam was behind the decision to sack these two officials. The government is displaying an aggressive attitude in its dealings with the opposition. All over the country, pictures of Zia and Khaleda Zia are being removed from various public places. Instead of tackling the opposition politically, this aggressive behaviour may only provoke a aggressive similar response, analysts fear. This time August 15 was commemorated in a big way. The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Tungipara. However, on grounds of inclement weather, she did not go, though the bad weather was short-lived. The Prime Minister's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy came to Bangladesh recently ahead of the August 15 commemoration. Though it was not officially announced, the media reported that Joy would visit his grandfather's grave at Tungipara on August 15. However, on August 13 he left the country unannounced. Even the media was unaware of his departure. The reformists were not seen as active as before in the August 15 programmes. How far will Sheikh Hasina's new team manage to fulfill the aspirations of the people? Critics say that the voluble members of the cabinet are more into words than action. They may face the axe. Sheikh Hasina keeps a sharp watch on all. The present setup may not be the final one. Hasina is proceeding ahead with care. She will start sifting the chaff from the grain and then surge forward with a select team to set to the task of building a dream Bangladesh. |
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