Why did Pranab meet them?
After his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the visiting Indian minister separately met up with three senior leaders of Awami League. What was the agenda?
by ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM
Speculations abound concerning the recent whirlwind visit of the Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Did he come to Dhaka just to be present at the signing of the one billion dollar credit deal, or was their some hidden agenda behind the visit? Analysts are scrutinizing the matter with attention to microscopic detail. And when Pranab Mukherjee met with three senior reformist leaders of Awami League, who have been sidelined for long, this gave rise to further speculations. There is also some curiousity as to whether the Indian Minister had any special new message for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
India had come forward to help Bangladesh in its liberation struggle of 1971, but 39 long years have passed. India's foreign policy, leadership and politics have quite a new dimension now. Much water has passed through the Ganges since then and circumstances have undergone a sea change.
In the fifties, the fundamental message of US Secretary of State George Marshall's doctrine was: "There are no permanent friends, only interests." India apparently also adheres to such a doctrine and its interventions in Sri Lanka, Nepal and other South Asian countries are no secret. So when, after meeting with Sheikh Hasina, Pranab Mukherjee went on to meet three senior leaders of the ruling party, much significance was read into the visit. What did they discuss? What was the agenda?
Meeting the three leaders
Pranab Mukherjee held this meeting with the three leaders at the residence of the Indian High Commissioner. The High Commissioner was not present -- it was just a cosy foursome between Pranab and Tofail, Amu and Suranjit.
There is possibility of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visiting Bangladesh in October. He may inaugurate the transit for Indian goods to be taken from Akhaura through Ashuganj. Observers feel that Pranab came to ensure the implementation of the bilateral agreements between India and Bangladesh before this visit. They feel he has put pressure on Sheikh Hasina to accelerate the implementation of the deals and this too was the agenda of his meeting with the three leaders.
A veteran leader of Awami League tells PROBE, there are both positive and negative aspects of Pranab's meeting with the three senior leaders. It is negative, in a sense, for Sheikh Hasina, but positive for the three, Pranab has given importance the three leaders who have been snubbed in no uncertain terms by Hasina. As a result, the existing division within Awami League has become more apparent to its leaders and workers. It also indicates that the reformists are strong.
These deprived leaders long ago had drafted reforms in the party constitution. When Hasina was behind bars during the last caretaker rule, these leaders were pioneers of reform. They became known as the 'reformists'. These leaders are Razzak, Amu, Tofail and Sunranjit, whose popular acronym now is RATS. But they have had to pay for their reformist stance when Hasina came to power and reined them in. They may be become MPs, but not ministers. Their powers were curtailed. These leaders were fuming within themselves and their nationwide followers were crestfallen. These four heavyweight leaders had become dead horses virtually.
But now things have taken a turn. Hasina may have pushed them to one side, but Pranab has given them importance. Analysts feel this may be an indication that positions of significance await them in the offing.
A reformist leader says, this visit by Pranab has given the supporters of these leaders fresh impetus. The fact that these leaders were neglected for so long, has simply been emphasized further.
Some analysts state that the reformist move by these leaders was a product of the outside initiators of 1/11. That is why, in time, they are likely to be brought in from their present state of obscurity. Some feel Pranab's move aimed at closing the gap between the government and these reformists.
The bottom line is not any message that Pranab delivered to the three leaders, but the fact that he met them. This in itself is significant.
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