Editorial
PM's salvo at criticism
Let her redeem promise of change
To the nation's disappointment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appears to have dismissed demands from her party and ruling alliance lawmakers that she sack some under-performing ministers. The lawmakers were only giving expression to widespread public feeling about some critical issues the nation has of late been facing. By her reaction, the prime minister has made it clear that while she relishes the good words about her government she is in little mood to accept and act on justified criticism. In this case, the criticism was not so much directed at her as it was at some ministers. By choosing to criticise the critics, she has effectively given a boost to those ministers who have performed miserably. Worse, she gives people reason to suspect that intolerance may be blinding the government to the realities on the ground.
The nation had expected the prime minister to take the lawmakers' views seriously because these parliamentarians were not only echoing public concerns but also trying to assist her in a refocusing of priorities for her government. Her retort that the criticism was providing ammunition to her enemies was a sorry instance of how crucial national issues can be trivialised. The political opposition and detractors of the ruling party have no dearth of reasons by which they can pounce on the government and they have indeed been doing that. The more important point for Sheikh Hasina should have been to reflect seriously on the MPs' comments because when ruling lawmakers raise issues in parliament, it is a definitive sign of governance going wrong somewhere. Her riposte that a few failures are being highlighted quite ignores the fact that these few failures happen to affect the everyday life of citizens. Maintaining good roads, keeping prices within decent limits, ensuring regular electricity, gas and water and curbing crime are basic expectations of an elected government.
The prime minister and her party pledged to turn things around when they went to the elections in December 2008. The promise was one of change. It is time to redeem that promise. Burying heads in the sand will not help.
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