Editorial
Tackling unruly BCL elements
They must be dealt with under the law
THE proof of good governance comes through the difficult and yet necessary actions a political administration takes in the larger interest of citizens. Where such decisions are absent, indeed where only a platitudinous mouthing of intent becomes the pattern, it is governance that suffers. In the present instance, we certainly appreciate the candour with which Local Government and Rural Development Minister Syed Ashraful Islam has spoken of a few bad elements of the Chhatra League undermining the image of the government. We also note that the minister, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, has spoken of punishment for these trouble makers. The problem here, however, is that over the past many months a number of leading figures in the government have said precisely what Mr. Islam has been saying. The constant refrain that these unruly elements of the Chhatra League will have to pay for their bad activities has come so often, without any concrete action on the ground, that nowadays people are tempted to respond to such statements with cynicism.
That of course brings us to the crux of the matter. It is that there must be an acknowledgement within the ruling circles that these elements of the Chhatra League (and it does not matter if they are a handful or a whole legion) have been engaging in destructive activities with impunity for a long time and have been getting away with it. They have busied themselves in tender manipulation at various institutions of higher learning in the country. They have, in a good number of instances, tried to force the authorities of colleges across the country to admit students through overriding the admissions criteria and in some cases have even had principals and teaching staff confined to their offices as a pressure tactic. And, to be sure, we remain aware of the number of times factions of the BCL have gone after one another, thereby causing mayhem and fear in the educational institutions. There can hardly be anyone who will not agree that all these activities of the Chhatra League have violated the law, have indeed been of a criminal nature.
And criminal activities are expected to be dealt with under the appropriate laws of the land. It is not enough for ruling party functionaries to say that these unruly elements of the BCL will be punished through expulsion from the organisation. Of course they can be expelled. But the bigger fact here is that their activities have caused anguish to the nation because of the defiance of the law they have demonstrated. For that reason alone it must be the law enforcing agencies that must deal with these elements. We have observed that instances of ministerial pronouncements regarding BCL activities are followed by fresh incidents of unlawful acts on the part of their student supporters. Such a situation must be brought to an end, not through mere platitudes or pointless expulsions from the BCL but through the application of the law and justice.
All bright things come to quick confusion through the acts of a few bad eggs. The government must realise that unless it acts firmly against its own unruly young, its good deeds in other areas will soon be overshadowed by its failure to bring its own misguided followers to book.
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