Editorial
The new indemnity law unacceptable
The just-concluded session of the current parliament, prorogued on Tuesday, saw passage of quite a few of government bills without much discussion, thanks to undemocratic attitude of the governing coalition and the perpetual absence of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party from the House. Subsequently, the people of the country have been deprived of the opportunity to clearly know the contents of the laws made by an otherwise loyal parliament. Still, the media did not fail to take special note of one of the bills passed – Bidduth O Jalanir Druto Sorboraha Briddhi (Bishesh Bidhan) Bill, 2010 – which is absolutely undemocratic and unjust, and therefore anti-people. The law, said to have been enacted for ensuring quick supply of electricity and fuel to the people, stipulates that no court of the country will have the right to take into cognisance for trial of any steps taken under the legislation in question by any authorities, public or private, in the future. In other words, the parliament members belonging to the ruling coalition have enacted in advance, with the opposition MPs absent from the House, an indemnity law to save the skin of the government of the day, and its private sector partners concerned, from the trial of any illegal steps to be taken, and corruption to be committed, in the business of generation and supply of power and electricity.
No doubt that the country has been suffering from acute shortage of electricity since long, before the incumbents took office in January 2009. The ruling party was adequately aware of the shortage before the last general elections, for which the party routinely criticised its political predecessors. Moreover, in its election manifesto, the ruling Awami League had marked gas and electricity generation as a priority issue to be addressed immediately after the formation of the government. The party was voted to power about two years ago but its government has done nothing significant about resolving the power crisis. Now, with almost two years of its tenure already over, the government has made the 'special' law to urgently solve the problem, with the 'help' of some private companies, and arranged for indemnity in advance so that they are not tried in the future for any illegal and irregular steps, if taken, in the process of buying or generating power! The very act of making such a law in advance clearly hints that the government and its private sector partners have already planned some illegal and non-transparent steps, understandably to make some quick money, in the name of solving power crisis on an urgent basis. Where was this 'urgency' over the last two years? One wonders if the government deliberately allowed the problem to become more severe only to justify this indemnity to a vicious group of people planning to plunder a huge amount of money from the public exchequer.
The concept of indemnity itself is undemocratic, for it ignores the issue of accountability to the people — a core principle of democratic governance. The newly enacted indemnity law is, therefore, unacceptable, completely unacceptable. The politically conscious and democratically oriented sections of society, therefore, need to raise their voice against this indemnity law before the public money is being plundered under it. The power sector, after all, involves a huge amount of money.
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