THIS has again been a ploy of the ruling Awami League to counter programmes of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the largest in the opposition camp, holding similar programmes the same day and, often, at almost the same time and place. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is trying to rejuvenate party leaders and activists with fresh programmes, held rallies for two consecutive days in the capital city. The party鈥檚 south city unit held a rally in front of the party鈥檚 central office at Naya Paltan and brought out a procession on May 10 and the party鈥檚 youth front Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal held a rally at the same place the next day. Keeping to what the Awami League earlier did, the party, this time too, held a press conference, in a show of strength, at its central office on Bangabandhu Avenue on May 10 and held a 鈥榩eace and development rally鈥� at Mohammadpur in the capital city the next day. What the Awami League does appears as much to deny the opposition any democratic space for political dissent as to run after the opposition, presumably out of vengeance, at every chance available. This constitutes both an undemocratic attitude and high-handedness of a sort on part of the Awami League.
The Awami League has for a couple of years been countering the programmes of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party with similar programmes at almost the same place, or around, the same time on the same day. And, the Awami League, by virtue of its presiding over the government, has used state agencies such as the law enforcement agencies, often aided by leaders and activists of the Awami League and its fronts, against the opposition in all this. It has reached such a pass that the Awami League appears to be harbouring the only objective of being high-handed towards programmes of its political opponents and other dissents even when they are civic in nature. It has also happened in the past that the Awami League, once it has announced programmes to counter opposition programmes, changed the date and venue for the programme once the Bangladesh Nationalist Party called off its programme for some reasons or postponed for another date. And, it has happened several times. This is what shows the doggedness of the Awami League which may well be construed as efforts to get into confrontation that could lead to violence, which it did on several occasions. While this shrinks the space for dissent in a democratic dispensation, this also vitiates the political culture which is undesirable.
The Awami League鈥檚 announcing political programmes for the day the Bangladesh Nationalist Party announces programmes must stop in the interests of a sound political culture and in the furtherance of democratic dispensation. The Awami League appears to be in need of course correction. It must, therefore, stay off such propositions to sanitise the political culture by purging itself of any high-handedness that it harbours against dissents, civic and political.