Editorial
BNP's stepping away from hartal welcome
Ruling party should open up space for dialogue
Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, to its credit, has been rather introspective in matters of calling hartals, not rushing into it every now and then, a known fixation with an opposition party in our country. It is heartening to note that the BNP has called off its prescheduled hartal on March 29 in deference to a Hindu festival -- Punna Snan (holy dip) -- falling on the same day. Being sensitive to religious sentiments of a community which had made a plea for it, is laudable, though it was only to be expected.
What is, however, no less significant is the BNP's dropping of the hartal agenda for the foreseeable future. In fact, without announcing any fresh date for hartal, the party has settled for 'country-wide demonstration' -- hopefully, that will pass peacefully without any provocation from the ruling party.
The BNP's sparing exercise of the hartal option conveys a sense that the party can do away with hartal since it has utilised other options like road marches, laying siege and mass rallies with maximum effect and success. More so because, the BNP with its allies has joined the parliament where their core demands will have to be met. Hartal and going to the street frequently cannot deliver on an opposition demand that relates to a constitutional amendment.
In the meantime, we urge the government to earnestly try and read into the opposition's sensible moves and take the underlying conciliatory hints to build up on them by extending a hand of reciprocation.
The onus was always on the ruling party to take the initiative and is more so now given the BNP's signs of gradually opening up. We believe there is a clear scope for dialogue and the government has to offer the space for it. The condition for talks cannot be created as long as provocative words are hurled at the opposition and the ruling party persists in an inflexible attitude to interim caretaker arrangement for the general election. Just a tweak here and there in refining the attitude can work wonders.
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