Editorial
Hartal signals a return to destructive politics
BNP must raise its concerns in Parliament
BEGUM Khaleda Zia has given out a call for a hartal on 27 June. It is a decision at once regrettable and with implications for the future. We have argued, consistently since our inception, that hartals are the worst manifestation of politics gone awry. Now that hartals are back, thanks to the BNP, we can only say that destructive politics we thought was in the past is now back in full flow. It is a sign of political bankruptcy on the part of the BNP and only points to the thought that the party has nothing substantive to offer in terms of democratic politics. Reportedly, some senior BNP leaders had sounded a discordant note on the hartal option but were apparently ignored by the party chief. Be that as it may, the fact that the call for hartal has come from an individual who has been prime minister on more than one occasion not only surprises the nation but also leaves it bewildered.
It is all a sign of confrontational and divisive politics coming back into the political arena and we at this newspaper cannot but condemn the move. While we do think that a significant part of the responsibility for such a swing to confrontational politics lies with the ruling Awami League and that the BNP is not solely responsible for the gathering mess, we do wonder, though, how a recourse to hartals can restore normalcy in such critical areas as power and gas supply, issues around which the BNP has been trying to rally the nation. We have little wish to delve yet again into the old sordid politics of claims and counter-claims, but it is difficult to understand how hartal can ensure supply of power, gas and water? Opposing a government for the sake of opposition, long a bad tradition in this country, has never paid dividends. But, of course, if the BNP does believe that the government is indulging in corruption and is incompetent, there are the standard political procedures for it to make its position known.
We agree that some of the issues Begum Zia raised at her Paltan Maidan rally on Wednesday, namely, the chaos caused by the Chhatra League, the manipulation of tenders and political appointments, have merit and are of grave concern to citizens. But such issues, we have argued long and hard, must be raised and discussed on the floor of Parliament. Unfortunately, the BNP has regularly come up with lame excuses, one after another, and over spurious issues, to avoid being in the House when the Jatiya Sangsad is in session. Begum Zia herself has demonstrated an appallingly negative attitude towards the Parliament through her irregular presence in it. Hartal certainly is no way to go about demanding a solution to the problems faced by citizens day after day. If the BNP means business and if it is serious about its stand on matters of public concern, it simply must go back to the JS. In these past sixteen months since the general elections, the party should have developed a well thought out constitutional strategy to keep the government on its toes in the House, for Parliament is the pivot around which democracy works as it does elsewhere across the globe.
Let Begum Zia rethink the hartal decision -- in the interest of democratic politics and economic stability and overall citizens' welfare. The times demand responsible politics rather than demagoguery.
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