PM's interview with BBC
She shines no light out of the political impasse
It is after a long time that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given an interview to the BBC. As usual, true to the trait of our national leaders, she chose the international media to dwell at length on burning issues of pressing national concern. In most democracies the national media would get priority or at least be included.
That said, we wholeheartedly congratulate the prime minister on her emphatic 'no' to any suggestion of anti-blasphemy law being made by a radical Islamic organisation. We regard this as a strong defence of secularist pluralistic ethos that Bangladesh stands for.
However, we have to say that her speech gave no direction nor provided any new thought about how to solve the ongoing serious political impasse primarily triggered by her arbitrary and one-sided annulment of caretaker system.
She insists on elections to be held with the ruling party in power, as in the established democracies. But she is expediently oblivious of the distrust between the major political parties with the result that the opposition fears the prospect of tampering with the elections if held under a ruling party.
Even though the original judgement of the court suggested continuation of an interim arrangement to hold national elections for two consecutive terms, she dispensed with the option unilaterally.
Her patent argument against caretaker system is that some 554 elections including 15 by-elections were held under this government leading to victories of BNP candidates at many places. But the issue is that such elections did not alter power balance as a national election does.
We remember that the prime minister in pressing her demand for caretaker government when in the opposition did mention that elections held under the then-government were not of a type that could alter power balance. Now if the leader of the opposition uses the same argument to demand restoration of interim caretaker arrangement what answer does the PM have to it.
What we had was a mere reiteration of all positions -- except on anti-blasphemy -- and no direction as to how to solve the immediate problems besetting the country.
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