Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Epaper

PM Hasina faces tough time ahead of election

Published : Sunday, 5 November, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 434
Nizam Ahmed
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her government and the party Awami League have now been facing the greatest challenge in her third consecutive and the fourth term in office as the 12th parliamentary election is due in the first half of January next.

After successfully leading the country in its trajectory of economic and infrastructural developments mainly from 2009 till to date, her government has been facing economic headwinds since the outbreak of pandemic in 2020. The problems multiplied with the start of Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. The ongoing Israel -Hamas conflicts also likely to acute the global economic slowdown further affecting Bangladesh.

With the intensification of political and industrial violence, rising of commodity prices beyond purchasing capacity of the majority, depleting of the foreign reserves and fall of exports, the government may face a tough time to organize and hold the election in time. How the government will tackle the situation, only the time will say as the proverb goes 'necessity knows no law.' However, the Bangladesh constitution empowers the government to postpone the parliamentary election only in case of deadly natural calamity and unusual situations.

The ongoing violent agitations of garment workers demanding higher wages in the wake of rising prices often go violent and turn deadly as police try to disperse them from streets at Mirpur, Saver and some other industrial pockets around Dhaka.

It is feared that if the millions of garment workers join the protests for wages or against the rising commodity prices, the general people, who think that the price spiral is due to the inaction of the government, may unite with the workers. When the general people will take to the streets like garment workers, the anti-government parties will surely grab the opportunity to expand the anti-government agitations.

Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserves slipped below 20 billion-mark following export payment this week while the exports fell significantly in October, heightening economic worries, which have already demoralized political and economic stakeholders in the country.

Nearly 20 people including a policeman have been killed, may injured and dozens of transports were torched or vandalized across the country till November 3, after the public meeting of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in front of its Naya Paltan central office turned violent in Dhaka on October 28, last. At least 30 journalists were also injured when they were attacked while doing their professional duties in Dhaka when violence erupted.

Besides the protest rally organized by BNP, the ruling Awami League also held a peace-rally at the South gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on the day. It may be mentioned here that that Awami League has been organizing peace rallies simultaneously whenever BNP held street campaign in Dhaka over the last one year.

According to journalists and other eye witnesses the violence erupted around 12.30 pm on the day when a truck carrying a group of Awami League activists was passing through Karail Church intersection towards the peace rally. Some people wielding sticks spread violence vandalizing vehicles at the spot some 1.5 km west of BNP dais in front of its central office. At the same time Jamaat-e-Islami was also holding a rally on the streets beside the Notre Dame College.

As police armed with sound grenades, water cannons, armoured vehicles, rubber bullets, teargas shells and batons dispersed around half a million protesters gathering in a four sq km area covering Kakrail Mosque to Arambagh, Rajarbagh to Dainik Bangla intersection and Bijoynagar to Purana Paltan areas. However, it take around two hours to disperse the main gathering at Naya Paltan when the leaders failing to withstand teargas and smokes of sound grenades left the dais abruptly.  In the violence a policeman and an activist were killed, besides scores injured.

Despite, the death of a constable in the violence, police showed a great restraint and they refrained from taking vengeance on unruly protesters, and brought the unprecedented situation under control. It may be mentioned here at early hours of May 6, 2013, police dispersed some 50,000 activists of radical Islamic party Hefazat-e-Islam, in a half an hour of operations, killing some 11 people.

Protesting police actions, that forced BNP to end the huge public meeting abruptly, on October 28, the party enforced a three-day blockade from October 31 to November 2. At least three people were killed when buses were torched in and around Dhaka. A similar  number of people were killed when police tried to normalize the blockade-hit situation at different spots in the country.

Meanwhile meddling by some western envoys in Bangladesh's internal politics, in addition to one-sided, random and groundless remarks from their respective governments made the situation further complicated in Bangladesh.

In addition, the raging rumours and speculations by talk show stars and you-tubers have been shaking self confidences among Bangladesh government officials, politicians and general people, some of whom following speculations and misgivings believed that the government was resigning on November 3.

The rumours, speculations and misgivings seemed to have also infected the some local and global human right groups, western governments and even the United Nations. A statement of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on recent Bangladeshi political protests, issued on October 31, revealed that the relevant UN office has been deflected from universal position of neutrality and have taken clearly a side in Bangladesh's violent politics.

"On 28 October, opposition protesters allegedly attacked the residences of the Chief Justice and other judges, and approximately 30 journalists were assaulted by protesters and masked individuals riding on motorcycles, who are thought to have been ruling party supporters," said the statement of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Analysts question how the UN office can say "�assaulted by protesters and masked individuals riding on motorcycles, who are thought to have been ruling party supporters." The analysts say with the statement the relevant office of the UN has clearly supported a side in Bangladesh politics. Meanwhile the intervention of the western diplomats led by the US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas has long been prominent in the politics of the country.

Political violence in Bangladesh is likely to intensify in the coming weeks as a radical Islamist group, Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), following Jamaat-e-Islami, lent support on Friday to the main anti-government force BNP, in its ongoing violent campaign to compel the government of Sheikh Hasina resign and hold the upcoming  parliamentary election under a non party caretaker government.

IAB chief Amir Mufti Sayed Mohammad Rezaul Karim, best known as Charmonai Pir, addressing a peaceful mammoth gathering of the Islamists at the Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital threw the support to BNP's anti-government campaign. He asked the government to resign by next Friday, November 10 or face the music.

The announcement came as the BNP and its allies including Jamaat-e-Islami,  are going to enforce  the second spell of a two-day nationwide transport blockade from today (Sunday), clamped after a three-day-long first spell that ended on Thursday, November 2 last. IAB also announced a nationwide agitation on November 10, to secure release of all political detainees including Moulana Mominul Haque, a former Joint Secretary of  Hefazet-e-Islami, arrested in a woman repression case in 2021.

The writer is Business Editor, The Daily Observer



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