Bangladesh government invites political confrontation

While major segment of Bangladeshi media made a front page item quoting Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh telling senior editors in New Delhi that political landscape in Bangladesh could "change anytime", the content of this press meeting of Dr. Singh has been changed by the Indian Prime Minister's office lately, where they have detracted the portion of Dr. Manmohan Singh's statement on Bangladesh.

According to Bangladeshi media, commenting on Bangladesh situation, Dr. Singh told the editors "Our relations [with Bangladesh] are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 per cent of the population of Bangladesh swear by the [Jamaat-e-Islami] and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI."

"So, a political landscape in Bangladesh can change at any time. We do not know what these terrorist elements, who have a hold on the [Jamaat-e-Islami] elements in Bangladesh, can be up to," said the Indian Prime Minister.

Dr. Manmohan Singh said, "With Bangladesh, we have good relations. The Bangladesh government has gone out of its way to help us in apprehending the anti-Indian insurgent groups which were operating from Bangladesh for a long time. And that is why we have been generous in dealing with Bangladesh."

The Indian Prime Minister was obviously referring to the tacit cooperation between Dhaka and Delhi that led to the arrest of several top leaders of the Indian insurgent organizations like United Liberation Front of Assam and National Democratic Front of Bodoland along the border in November and December 2009 as well as in May 2010. The arrested militant leaders included ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary.

Indian prime minister's remark on the ISI's influence on Jamaat-e-Islami also came at a time when the testimony of terror-plotter David Coleman Headley during the trial of his childhood friend and accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana in a court in Chicago exposed the Pakistani spy agency's role in the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

The carnage perpetrated by 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba left at least 174 killed and many others injured.

Both Headley and Rana were arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago in October 2009 for plotting the terror-attacks in Mumbai and Denmark.

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh made the remark while interacting with some of the senior editors of Indian newspapers on Wednesday. His office made public the full transcript of the question and answer session. But, on Thursday evening, the content was changed as "Corrected Version", where Dr. Singh's comment on Bangladesh has been deleted. It is easily understandable that such changes were made following special request from Dhaka.

With the remarks by the Indian Prime Minister of change of political landscape in Bangladesh at 'any time', there is clear sign of severe political confrontation in the country, as the ruling party, which has brute majority in the Parliament has passed the much-talked-about bill, making sweeping changes to the constitution, including abolition of the caretaker government system. But very surprisingly, Bangladesh Awami League, which preaches secularism as its ideology has bowed down to Islamist demand as well as demand from its Islamist coalition partners like Jatiyo Party in keeping Islam as the 'State Region' on Bangladesh. Leftists in the coalition have also extended support towards keeping Islam as the State religion of the country.

The Constitution [Fifteenth Amendment] Bill 2011 was passed by 291 votes with the lone independent lawmaker Mohammad Fazlul Azim voting against and five ruling alliance lawmakers voting in favor of the bill with objections to five of the 54 amendments. Main opposition, Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the session, as it was clear that, with the brute majority, the ruling party can take any decision unilaterally in the Parliament, thus, ultimately turning the Parliament into a mere rubber stamp' entity. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which have been boycotting the parliament, are strongly opposing the amendment.

The leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia, also the BNP chairperson, at a briefing after the passage of the bill, said that the amendment transformed the constitution into a party manifesto of Awami League that stopped the path of power handover through democratic and peaceful means. The amendment will keep the incumbent government in power during the next parliamentary elections due in 2014. The BNP-led opposition fears it will lead to rigging of the polls in favor of the incumbents. Protesting at the move to repeal the caretaker system, the BNP-led opposition has already staged two general strikes. Introduced in the constitution in 1996, the caretaker system oversaw the holding of three parliamentary polls, including the last one in December 2008 that was swept by the Bangladesh Awami League-led alliance.

Terming a 'black day' June 30, the day when the ninth parliament passed the 15th amendment to the constitution of the republic, Khaleda Zia said that the amendment had 'snatched away people's franchise.'

Leader of the opposition said, 'People are gravely concerned about the government's ill motive. All the possibilities for holding free, fair, neutral and participatory elections have been marred by the amendment as it blocked the path of power handover through democratic and peaceful means.'

Calling on the government to repeal the 15th amendment, Begum Khaleda Zia warned the government of dire consequences. Khaleda also alleged that the passage of the 15th amendment has "squeezed the path of people's right to form political parties and forced the country's ethnic minorities to be considered Bengalis."

"Re-introduction of socialism will obstruct the country's economic growth," she observed.

Whatever justifications the ruling Bangladesh Awami League may try to give 'digest' the latest amendment of the constitution, it is very clearly understood that Bangladesh Awami League is trying to do everything to ensure their being in power up to 2023. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seen shifting most of her pre-election promises to 2015 for 'implementation'. In a recent public meeting, she said, power crisis will be resolved by 2015, while in her electoral manifesto of 2008, she made specific pledges of resolving the crisis if elected to power by 2013.

It is also clearly understood that the current government is trying to use all of the sources within the government and outside in ensuring Bangladesh Awami League in ultimately reviving one-party system called BKSAL. This process will gradually ban formation of political parties, as well as will suffocate the free press.

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Bangladesh government invites political confrontation

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