Politics of Mutual Blame Is Undesirable

The ruling BNP and the opposition Jamaat e Islami now accuse each other of making a deal with the fallen Awami League, which is banned from all activities after the mass uprising. This blame game has heated up the country’s politics. Political analysts have voiced concern. They say this kind of mutual blaming will open the way for the fallen Awami League to return.

Analysts also warn that it will create chaos, damage the country’s stability, and even threaten its independence and sovereignty. For some time, the ruling party has been accusing Jamaat e Islami of striking a deal with the banned Awami League. At a public rally in Rajshahi recently, Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman himself said the government has intelligence that the fallen autocrat and the opposition are working together. He said one side is paying money from across the border, while the other is trying to create unrest here.

Jamaat e Islami replied that the Prime Minister’s words are misleading. It said the BNP is the one making a deal with the Awami League through contacts with Delhi. It claimed he spoke this way only to make the opposition’s rightful movement look controversial. It also said fascist forces still hold strong positions in the administration, and the government blames the opposition instead of acting against them.

Political analysts say the Prime Minister’s allegation about a deal between the fallen autocrat and the opposition is very worrying. They say that when the state has such information, making a speech at a rally does not end its duty. The government must take administrative action against those involved. The nation does not want the fallen autocrat to return in any way.

It is very dangerous for the country that the political climate has heated up over these counter accusations. The fallen fascist Awami League government ruled for nearly 16 years. It looted the country and laundered money abroad, and left the economy like a bottomless basket. The interim government could not recover the economy either. It got worse.

The present government started its journey with a broken economy. Just before it began, the Iran war and the wider Middle East war started and shook the world economy. As a result, the world faces an energy crisis, trouble in trade, rising prices and a shortage of money. Ordinary people across Europe are staging big protests over the high cost of living, and some protests have turned violent. The United States has suspended sanctions on its old enemy Russia and signed a deal to import diesel to escape its own downturn.

If developed countries are going through such a deep downturn, there is no need to explain how a developing country like ours is doing. Investment has dried up, unemployment is rising and people’s incomes are falling. Imports and exports have slowed, and the cost of living has gone up with soaring prices. Production is falling in factories, and some are closing down.

A report by Daily Inqilab yesterday said more than 50 industrial factories have closed this year. About 30 thousand people have lost their jobs. All economic indicators are moving down. In this sad state of the economy, if the politics of blaming each other over a deal with the fallen Awami League continues, it is easy to guess the result. The country will face instability and chaos.

After the uprising, a new situation took shape in the country. People hoped politics would change for the better. They hoped the ruling party and the opposition would live side by side in a healthy way and work for the country’s interest. They hoped the opposition would protest the government’s mistakes and also offer advice to correct them through talks. People never want to go back to the bad political culture before the uprising.

It is sad that the public feels frustrated and worried watching the government and opposition blame each other. The government has taken various steps to strengthen the broken economy. It will take time to see the results, and political stability is needed for that. Meanwhile, the followers of fascist Ms. Sheikh Hasina have been encouraged by her announcement that she will return in December. They are now carrying out terrorist activities.

In this situation, the ruling party and the opposition fought together against fascist Hasina for a long time. Many of their leaders and workers gave their lives. In the July uprising, 1,400 people died, and about 30 thousand people were left blind or disabled for life. People are deeply hurt when they hear about a deal with the fascist Awami League, forgetting all this sacrifice.

People expect both the ruling party and the opposition to remember that they both fought against fascist Hasina. One is in power and the other is in opposition. So there should be no room for the fascist Awami League to return or be rehabilitated.

Local government elections are coming soon. The parties will not field their own candidates, but each will back some candidates. Observers say the blame game over the Awami League is a tactic to put psychological pressure on each other. Whatever the tactic, there can be no compromise on the Awami League’s activity or return. Any group that tries to rehabilitate Awami fascism for its own gain cheats the sacrifice of ordinary people. This cannot be tolerated in any way.

If the Awami League, nurtured under India’s shelter, gets a chance to return, neither the ruling party nor the opposition will escape its revenge. Their mutual blame and political division will let the Awami League strike both. Both parties should know well what the result of sheltering their “common enemy” can be.

We believe the government and the opposition should talk about how to give people some relief in this time of economic crisis. People who are suffering have no time to think about politics now. They expect the ruling party and the opposition to take joint steps to bring ease to their hard lives. The politics of blaming each other will only add to the public’s worry and serve no other purpose.