About 31% of our population lives below the poverty line. The low literacy rate, extensive nepotism, corruption, unscrupulous trade unionism, poor governance, inefficient bureaucracy, unemployment, loan defaults, and black market are all problems that need to be overcome.
But who is supposed to take the initiative for this? It is the political leaders of the country. But it is an irony of fate that we lack such dedicated, patriotic, and benevolent leaders who could steer the country.
The performance of the two major political parties of the country is far behind people’s expectations. Due to their failure, the problems are increasing day by day. Politicians as well as political parties, particularly in advanced democratic countries, generally try to outdo their opponents through argument. But the political culture in Bangladesh is totally different. Here we see political vendetta.
The parliament is the symbol of our national pride and dignity. It is very sad that the citadel of our democracy is giving up its sacred responsibilities.
Regardless of what one says, the truth is, there is hardly any political leader in the country who has any real contact with the people at large. The so-called connection to the people is mostly just coercion, intimidation, and muscle flexing.
Collectively, the parties have inflicted grievous injuries to this country, and to the millions belonging to the lower middle class, now a vanishing class, and the very poor.
Even though we live in a so-called democratic society, political parties seldom practice democracy. Party chiefs take the ultimate decisions, and are never elected democratically. This practice frustrates intellectuals who are actively involved in politics. As a result, educated people are losing interest in party politics.
It is quite immature to expect that too many opinions of “senior leaders,” other than the prime minister’s, will be taken into account, if they do not satisfy the ambitions of the party. We have seen over the last 42 years that the mainstream party lawmakers have remarkably failed to serve the goals of our nation.
The only way to rectify such a situation is to clean it up from the head of the governance, and in that, we need someone with a sufficiently good reputation and experience.
Eminent citizens of the country who have the credentials to command such respect from the people should come forward. It was about time someone like that stood up and gave the people some respite from “bad or worse” choices that many feel presently limited to.
During the election campaigns, they promise many things to the voters. When they come to rule, they forget their promises. Now, the situation in Bangladesh is very frustrating. The much discussed 10th parliamentary election was held amidst unprecedented violence and one of the lowest voter turnouts in memory.
It is nothing but a mockery of democracy. We may call it constitutional, but the election is questionable where 153 MPs out of 300 were elected unopposed. The unethical general election will not bring any positive change to the country’s governance and democracy.
A questionable government will lose its foreign friends, except India, for its oppression of the opposition, human rights violations, and divisive policies. Most of all, the spirit of our liberation war has been diluted by such one-sided polls.
The present political, economic, and social condition of our country of is quite grave. If we do not resolve it now, coming generations will suffer more than we are suffering now. There is no security in society. Much of it is the result of the conflict between the political parties and the unabated crime committed by party men.
It is my firm belief that a civil revolution, or as I call it, a Bengali Renaissance, has to happen now. People want different types of politics. They want prudent, sagacious, and honest persons in politics, but there seems to be no room for good people in our political arena. In the backdrop of our conventional politics, the emergence of a third force is necessary. The majority of the people will definitely welcome any move in that direction. We should all be united in making a new political force.