Political Tensions Rise as BNP-Jamaat Trade Allegations of a Secret Deal with Awami League
Rafiq Muhammad
The two main political parties, BNP and Jamaat e Islami, now stand face to face over charges against each other of a deal with the Awami League. The situation arose from statements and charges made recently by the top leaders of both parties. Political analysts say the two were the main allies in the movement against fascism. This open mud slinging, or the charge of a deal, can make the politics of the country very complex and heated. The fallen fascist force, meaning the Awami League, may take advantage of it.
Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman recently made a charge at a public rally in Rajshahi. He said, “The government has intelligence information that the fallen autocrat and an opposition party have made a deal. One is giving money from across the border, and the other is trying to create unrest here.” BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Mr. Ruhul Kabir Rizvi did not name Jamaat directly. But he charged that a “secret group” has now joined the Awami League’s false propaganda, and that its behaviour matches that autocracy or fascism.
Jamaat e Islami has hit back at this charge from the head of government and a top leader of the ruling party. The party’s Secretary General Mr. Mia Golam Parwar made a counter charge. He said BNP is making a deal with the Awami League through contact with Delhi. He said the government’s “wrong politics” and lack of foresight are creating disorder on the ground. In turn, he said, this gives the Awami League a chance to return to politics. He also charged that the government is now using the intelligence setup of the Awami era to put the blame on the opposition.
Political analysts mainly see these counter charges of a secret deal between BNP and Jamaat as a matter of power equations, political interest and strategy for the coming local government election. But the head of government has given clear information on what plots the Awami League, whose activities are banned, and the opposition party led by Jamaat have made against the country. BNP leaders, who lead the ruling party, have said the same. So analysts do not want to wave away such a charge from the head of government as only a political statement. When the Prime Minister clearly hints at a plot to destabilise the country through a deal between India and forces inside the country, analysts demand that it be taken seriously. They say that when such a charge comes from the highest level of the state, a proper investigation should check whether it is true, and the parties involved should make their positions clear. Some analysts do not find a deal between Jamaat e Islami and the Awami League completely unrealistic. Others think the political parties are using the sensitive charge of a “deal or plot with the Awami League” as a shield against each other, to turn public attention away from basic crises such as rising prices, law and order challenges and labour unrest.
Most analysts say the political parties are making big preparations for the local government election. The big parties are calculating how strong each party is on its own and which way each vote bank may flow. It can be said that a kind of psychological war is going on among them. Analysts think the theory of a deal is also being spread as a strategy to pull the Awami League’s huge vote bank to one’s own side, or to deny the rival that benefit. They think these counter charges are not really an ideological clash. They say it is a common strategy to establish control of power and to corner the rival politically before the coming election.
Noted political scientist and analyst Professor Dr. Dilara Chowdhury said these counter charges of a deal between the parties show the fragile political situation of the country. She said that any attempt to bring back Awami fascism for the interest of a party or group would betray the sacrifice of the common people. She said that if the parties get involved in the politics of compromise with various forces to hold or win power, it could push the country into a deeper crisis.
Mr. Abdullah Al Kafi (Ratan), General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and a political analyst, said the Prime Minister knows best on what basis he gave the hint about the Awami League and Jamaat. But he said the idea cannot be called completely baseless either. He said the two parties have always had some kind of understanding for political interest. They have run movements together in the past. In the thirteenth national election too, Jamaat got votes from a section of the Awami League. He said otherwise they would not have got more than 20 million votes. But he said intelligence watch by the government on political parties is also not acceptable. He said the Awami League did the same in the past. It can block the internal work of a party, and it is a warning sign for democracy.
Many see the charge of plot and deal against two political forces, coming from the head of government himself, as worrying. They say that if there is a real charge of a joint plot against any party or group, the government cannot escape responsibility by only making statements. They say the government should make clear what steps it is taking on this.
Mr. Ghazi Ataur Rahman, Secretary General of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, said the charge the Prime Minister made about a deal between the fallen autocrat and the opposition party is very worrying. He said they think the head of government’s statement is very clear. He said that when the state holds such information, giving a speech at a rally does not end the duty. He said administrative action must be taken against them. He said the nation does not want to see the return of the fallen autocrat in any way.
The Prime Minister says they have clear proof of a plot. But opposition leaders have called such statements a kind of political stunt. They charge that if the government really has intelligence information, then how does the Awami League hold processions while escaping the law enforcement members? They say there must be an intelligence failure. Or they say some people are hiding inside the government and working for the fascist force.
Maulana Jalaluddin Ahmad, Secretary General of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, said that if the Prime Minister’s statement is true, the question is why no action was taken against the accused despite having intelligence information. He asked why, if the statement has no specific basis, anyone would raise such a sensitive charge and try to mislead the public. He also raised questions about the capacity of the intelligence agencies.
Advocate Mr. Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami and head of the party’s publicity and media department, said the Prime Minister’s statement is misleading. He said the Prime Minister is saying such things mainly to make the opposition’s reasonable movement controversial. He said it is BNP, not Jamaat, that has taken up a programme to bring back the Awami League. He said the fallen Awami League held a big show of strength in Gulshan, the Prime Minister’s own constituency.
Mr. Zubair said they faced no obstacle because fascist forces still hold a strong position in the administration. Yet he said the government takes no action against them and puts the blame on the opposition. He warned that if the government keeps behaving this way, it will have to pay a heavy price in the future.
