Editorial
EX CA's comments on the CTG
It was necessary to make democracy functional
WHILE speaking at a seminar recently Justice Habibur Rahman made some very significant comments on the state of politics in Bangladesh. We will deal with only two of his comments.
Firstly, we cannot agree more with his observations that politics in our country has become a kind of investment and it no longer is a mission in the cause of the people but is a vehicle for personal aggrandizement. We feel it has, unfortunately, a lot to do with our political culture, one of which requires candidates to literally "buy" his candidature by "paying" huge fee to get party nomination. In addition, election expenses have crossed all limits. It is therefore not surprising that the major motivation of an MP, nominated thus, is to get the full return on his investment. To address the problem we feel changes in the election rules are necessary, and one may think of reducing the cost, and arrange for public funding, of elections, among others.
The other point of importance that the ex Chief Justice and Chief Adviser makes is that no nation that is proud of its politics can countenance a dispensation like the CTG.
The remarks have our fullest endorsement. CTG is indeed a damning indictment of our politics and polity. However, the caretaker system was again the outcome of the nature of politics in Bangladesh. Primarily it was lack of trust on the incumbent government to run a free and fair election that saw the emergence of the caretaker system. The idea was pushed forward by the AL but opposed by the BNP initially. The case is the reverse now. As undesirable as the idea may be, it was needed to make our democracy functional. And it can be said with certainty that the credibility of the elections held under the successive caretaker governments have been incontestable. Regrettably, the system has been arbitrarily dispensed with by the AL without a public debate on the issue.
In light of experience therefore we have to disagree with the former CA and are constrained to counsel the AL to have a rethink over the issue and utilize the option left open by the Supreme Court for holding the next two elections under CTG.
We have all the respect for what is ideal but the matter of functionality is important and needs to be borne in mind.
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