[ALOCHONA] Inevitability or a tragedy?

Inevitability or a tragedy?

Inam Ahmed

It is not so much an inevitability as a tragedy. A government that came to power with a landslide unseen since 1973, suddenly looks weak and waned. But then it is not so much a tragedy as an inevitable pitfall of a brute majority.

In the last one year, the government has been beset by event after event, most of which were avoidable. But why they were not avoided, people are short on answers, and now the whole political scene is misting over.

When this debilitation began is a long story. Some may say it started with the unleashing of the law enforcing agencies, especially Rab. The shooting of an innocent student, Limon, to make him a cripple, was so appalling that the whole country rose up in uproar. Only the home ministry and the ruling Awami League defended the act.

Another student, Kadar, was made near crippled in police torture and efforts were made to frame him as a robber. Once again, the government showed its most nonchalant mien to the event.Both of them were later found innocent.

These and many other actions of the law enforcing agencies produced no hope in the people. Extrajudicial killings were by then taken as something for granted.

And people also took it up to themselves to solve problems. They could beat six students to death. They could barricade roads, smash cars, burn tyres, and pelt stones until a government with both vision and hearing impairment would wake up to what was happening, and cancel an airport project or an army housing scheme.

Then the roads crumbled. The media was awash with pictures of potholed roads. Only the then communications minister, Syed Abul Hossain, found no fault.

And then the judgment was passed abolishing the caretaker government, to the surprise of many, with an option to continue the system for two more terms. The judgment created a deep confusion as the caretaker government was declared illegal, and at the same time it was suggested that the system continue for up to two more elections. But then the prime minister chose a sudden death for the process tested to yield trustworthy elections. The demise of the system came as a shocker for all, as it was the Awami League which actually had fought tooth and nail for it with non-stop agitation, and finally succeeded to push it down the gullet of the nation.

Now the country is still in an uncertainty as to how will the BNP be coaxed into the next election without a caretaker government and under the AL government.

Things also kept happening on the economic front, and much of the blame for the mess-up must fall on the government's shoulder. The capital market scam for one. Repeated warnings of a market heat-up fell on deaf ears, and the inevitable crash followed. The probe into the scam was sent into oblivion.

The economy came under strain from other sides as well. Excessive borrowing, intense pressure on reserves, high expenditure, and high inflation -- all recipe for public discontent.

The Padma Bridge saga left the people confused and frustrated. Fingers were pointed at the communications minister for an alleged corruption, and yet the issue remained unresolved. The World Bank repeatedly said it had provided information on corruption, which the government denied.

All this put the government on a rickety platform. Then the recent spate of events started happening. The Suranjit Sengupta story rocked the country. Never in the history of the country, such a blatant example of corruption had been revealed in such a dramatic way. The government's action of keeping Suranjit as a minister against the people's popular perception looked like committing hara-kiri.

And then the Ilias Ali disappearance riddle appeared as a great Houdini show. Rising from the bottom of the pile, the BNP immediately swept up a popular support to wage a violent movement that is now causing great concern, both political and economic.

The conclusion of this tapestry of events now looks unappetising. Everyone is waiting to see how the Houdini riddle is solved and at what cost. Cost is all this country has been counting with a fast depleting political account.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=231724

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