The BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia recently summoned Mahmudur Rahman Manna to her home. Manna, a former Awami Leaguer who has joined ranks with the BNP, was told in clear terms that Zia and her party will boycott the next general election if there was no caretaker government.
The BNP is currently claiming that there will be no general election because their street movement will prevent the government from holding the election. Their street protests have failed to date.
The BNP's demand for a caretaker government, ostensibly premised on the need for a free and fair election, has been debunked on the basis that what the BNP really wants is to ensure that only Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman lead their party back to power.
Once in power, there is no guarantee that the BNP will ever relinquish power. They want the return of the Zia “kleptocracy.” They see the caretaker government as the best chance of achieving that outcome.
In the meanwhile, the BNP has started issuing death threats against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On May 19, the BNP's Rajshahi District Convenor Abu Said Chand had the audacity to call for the prime minister of Bangladesh to be sent to the graveyard, amid cheers from BNP supporters.
The protection of the right to life and personal liberty is enshrined as a fundamental right in the constitution of Bangladesh. The BNP is a registered political party, which has to abide by the laws of the land, including the fundamental rights of the constitution.
Instead, the BNP is spitting venom at the basic values of civilization. In Bengali, the BNP cries foul regarding human rights. But when facing the international community, the BNP is at pains to prove that they are angels.
I have previously argued that Khaleda Zia should retire due to her incompetence, legal tussles, and health complications. I must now argue that she should leave politics due to her sheer and utter moral bankruptcy. She has turned the BNP into a political party devoid of any decency. In a Bengali context, it is all too evident.
Chand could not have dared to issue the death threat to the prime minister without the blessings of his party supremo Tarique Rahman, who happens to consult with his mother Khaleda Zia online on a regular basis.
A death threat from the BNP is hardly surprising. The BNP's own record in government, which saw multiple assassinations and attempted assassinations, does not inspire any confidence.
As the chairperson and acting chairperson of the BNP respectively, both Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman are complicit in the words and actions of their party officials. They have not condemned the death threat from Chand. Instead, the BNP has condoned his speech.
None of this should come as any surprise. Under Khaleda Zia, the political language and culture of the BNP has progressively deteriorated towards disdain for any rational political behaviour.
The BNP and its ally Jamaat are key factors in the progressive deterioration of Bangladeshi political language and culture. They enjoy the geopolitical backing of a certain quarter in world politics. But this has come at the expense of Bangladesh's political culture, which has seen a progressive decline in the quality of political speech and political thought.
For those of us who want to reverse this trend, a key starting point has to be the ouster of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman. Both are complicit in the continued deterioration of Bangladeshi political culture.
You cannot preach human rights if you don't believe in human rights. The death threat from Chand just goes to show that the BNP preaches human rights but does not believe in human rights.
The BNP and Jamaat have failed to demonstrate basic respect for the right to life and liberty in their political speeches and activities. This proves their moral bankruptcy as a political movement. Bangladesh must have the sovereignty to take bold decisions to improve its political culture.
Umran Chowdhury works in the legal field.