The present Awami League government is behaving like a creature gone berserk.

It is flailing anyone and everyone it suspects of being a threat to itself. Leaders of the main opposition party BNP, including its Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir are being persecuted relentlessly by it. The government has chosen the Jamaat-e-Islami, which was an ally of Awami League from 1994 to 1996 but later a partner of BNP in the 2001-2006 cabinet, for administering especially rough police treatment. Journalists are being beaten up frequently by ruling party cadres all over the country. The civil society is no longer welcome to the Awami League government. Labour rallies are regularly foiled by police action.

Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank fame has been targeted for insult. He is now being investigated for alleged tax evasion, money laundering and unlawfully taking salary and allowance from Grameen Bank. This is being done by a collective decision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet members. At the same time, the government has taken steps for tightening its control on Grameen Bank. It is going to have the final say in the matter of appointment of the bank’s managing director. The government already enjoys the power to appoint its chairman.
Neither Prime Minister Hasina nor any minister has so far told the public what has made them so angry with Yunus. At one point of the Awami League government’s vitriolic campaign against him it seemed that his fault was to have won the Nobel Prize which the ruling party was wishing to be awarded to Sheikh Hasina. But now it is being suspected that the Awami League leadership has convinced itself that some powerful hand will remove them from power and install a sort of “national government” to “stabilise” Bangladesh and Prof. Yunus will be put at its head as a nationally acceptable figure. What however remains unanswered is that such a government will be illegal as there is no law available yet for creating it. Professor Yunus has remained remarkably calm and very quiet in spite of the dirt being thrown at him by the Awami League and government stalwarts.
The ruling party’s chorus, conducted by the Prime Minister, that the system of having a non-party caretaker government during parliament elections will never be reintroduced has reached a crescendo. Sheikh Hasina has said that the poll-time government may be reconstituted to include representatives from all parties including the BNP. Law Minister Shafiq Ahmed has said that even if BNP does not accept this invitation the proposed interim government will be formed with other opposition parties in it. The government and the Election Commission are preparing to stage the parliament election at the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia has rejected Sheikh Hasina’s proposal and has threatened to launch street agitations soon after Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations. BNP will boycott and resist any parliament election under any party government not to speak of the fascistic Awami Leagie in control, she has said. Continuous inflation, fall in income, broken down roads, ramshackle transports and terrible crimes have already dampened the festive spirit. Now the fear of conflict looms large.

In Bangladesh elections which have been boycotted by the opposition have resulted in short-lived parliament. History clearly shows this. The third parliamentary elections held in 1986 under military ruler General Ershad was boycotted by BNP, one of the two major political parties. Awami League had taken part in that election but it found it convenient to join anti-Ershad agitations by other political parties. Finally, Ershad had to abolish this parliament in December, 1987. It had a life of only one year five months. Ershad again staged a parliament election in 1988. This was boycotted by all opposition parties save a few insignificant ones. This parliament came to an end after two years and eight months instead of the full five-year term. General Ershad had to quit power a few days earlier due to a mass upsurge against him. This time Awami League was in the anti-Ershad movement alongside BNP. Then Begum Zia, who became prime minister in April 1991, had to dissolve the fifth parliament six months ahead of schedule as all the opposition members had resigned in pursuance of their demand for a non-party care-taker government during parliament elections. The sixth parliament elections held under the BNP government was boycotted by all the opposition parties. They also resisted the elections, often with violent means. This parliament lasted for only ten days. Beguym Zia, as prime minister, requested the President to dissolve this controversial parliament but after passing the 13th Constitution amendment which created the legal basis of setting in place a non-party care-taker government during parliament elections.

Indeed, the parliament elections of 1991 too were held under a non-party care-taker government which was created by the constitutional provisions existing then. There was a presidential form of government at that time. The first and second parliaments came to premature end because of military coups. Existence of the opposition was made illegal by Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s ‘second revolution” by which he foisted a one-party system on Bangladesh and transformed himself into the executive president of the country. This history shows that parliaments in Bangladesh have failed to run their normal course whenever rulers changed the democratic rules. Why do Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami League fail to see this reality.

Sheikh Hasina argues that the Supreme Court has declared the non-party care-taker government to be unconstitutional. Here, she is speaking only half of the truth because the Supreme Court had clearly ordered that the next two parliament elections should be held under the non-party care-taker government.
This system was introduced to prevent ruling parties from rigging the election and to make the elections credible.
(Weekly Holiday, 10/08/2012)