Editorial
Hartal, again
Why make the people suffer?
TO lodge its protest against the government move to split the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) into two, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal next Sunday.
As a matter of principle, we have always been against using hartal to lodge protests, since it causes immense sufferings to the public and loss to the economy. It is not only the regular commuters, the day labourer, the wage earners, ailing patients who suffer and the economy is harmed, the attendant street violence adds to the damage.
The recent 'road march' programmes by the main opposition to drum up public support for its anti-government agitation programmes were being looked upon as a welcome shift from the destructive culture of hartal. The BNP deserves approbation for that. Now with this fresh hartal call, is it again slinking into that much abhorred and dreaded culture of hartal?
There is no question that the main opposition has its point in holding agitation programmes against the unilateral government move to split the DCC. It could well opt for demonstrations, public rallies and different peaceful programmes to drive home its demand. Does not this fresh hartal risk making a dent into whatever political mileage it had gained so far through its road march and other non-destructive programmes? It could also go to the Jatiya Sangsad and voice its protests against DCC splitting. In that case, it is not only the ruling party, the entire nation would nave been able to know the opposition's viewpoint on the issue.
In this paper, we have expressed our strong reservations against the government's unilateral decision to divide Dhaka City. The government did not only fail to reach a general consensus, it could not also take its own alliance partners into confidence on the issue. It rode rough shod on the opinions expressed by experts, civil society and the intelligentsia about the decision.
Therefore, constituents from a wide swathe of the socio-political spectrum see eye to eye with the opposition's stance against DCC splitting. That should provide sufficient ground for it to rethink the unnecessary hartal of Sunday.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments