Editorial
Accusatory exchanges between two leaders
Truth is the biggest casualty
Since the rail accident in Sirajgang, BNP chairperson, secretary general and many of its leaders have been saying that it was a planned attack by the government to disrupt Begum Zia's meeting. The minister for communication, on his part, held the opposition BNP responsible for the incident. Upping the pitch of acrimony, Prime Minister herself joined the fray and said that Khaleda Zia was waiting in the nearby Jamuna resort for the accident to take place before she went to the meeting., meaning that she wanted her own workers to die so that she can have, what the PM called, "issues" for agitation. Shifting focus on to the Natore incident, she said that intra-party rivalry existed within BNP ranks, implying that the killing may have resulted from infighting, while video footage and eyewitness reports have already appeared in the press and on numerous TV channels clearly showing Awami League goons being involved.
Regrettably nobody seems to be interested in facts in this case. The aim of BNP seems to try to make political capital out of the tragedy and that of the ruling party to put the blame on the opposition. In the midst of it all, truth, upholding of the law and dispensation of justice get sidelined and bad politics (very bad politics) gets the upper hand.
We want to say clearly that our leaders must stop flinging such dangerous accusations at each other because they harm the nation in multiple ways. The very first casualty is truth, followed by dispensation of justice. The criminals take full advantage of it and the message gets around that if you are in the ruling party police will not touch you, regardless of what you do. The law enforcement infrastructure becomes dis-empowered as they lack a clear guidance as to the direction to move forward with determination and vigour. When the PM says that Opposition leader was waiting for "dead bodies" can the investigating authorities be expected to find anything to the contrary. As a result people lose confidence in the government, in the institutions of governance and in time, in the system as a whole.
Symptom of this we see every time there is a road accident and the ordinary public start burning every passing car and bus they can get their hands on.
Why? Because people feel that nothing will come out of the system.
What has happened in Sirajgang is extremely tragic. Innocent lives have been lost, many more seriously injured and property of hundreds have been vandalised. As we have reported passenger buses in the nearby areas, miles away from the scene of the tragedy, were also attacked and passengers' belongings looted as the criminal elements took full advantage of the moment. This happens when both sides, the government and the opposition, become disinterested in the truth and in the dispensation of justice and start making political capital of national tragedies.
Please lower your shrill voices and let the investigation take place and truth surface. That is the only way governance can prevail. Otherwise everything will fail.
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