I’ve never quite understood the BNP leader’s use of the term oust, when she bleats on about ousting the sitting Awami League government “because its activities go against the interests of the people and the country”.
Does Begum Zia mean that she will force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation from power? Alternatively does she intend to bring a vote of no confidence against the Awami League majority in parliament? (It might help the BNP then to actually take each MP’s seat in opposition so that the parliamentary maneuvers can begin in earnest.)
Begum Zia spoke on the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the BNP by her assassinated husband, President Ziaur Rahman. She claimed that the current “government will be removed from power through the people’s movement for its anti-people and anti-nation activities”. This proclamation suggest that she is thinking in terms of a recall. Now, that’s a closed off road to regaining power according to the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Begum Khaleda Zia has been calling for a people’s movement for more than six months now. So far the public declarations to mount much a movement have not come to much. Mass protests have died down after a day. Workers have shunned BNP calls to strike; it seems people are happier earning money than burning tires.
Suppose Begum Zia means– as an intelligent observer might take her to mean–that the BNP will overtake the AL in the next parliamentary elections. Suppose she means that she will bring about conditions that result in the AL’s electoral defeat. Suppose all that. She would still have little ground to hold that claim at this moment. For instance, the recent mayoral race in Chittagong was won by a very popular candidate who was supported by the BNP. The BNP did not recruit the candidate. The BNP’s electoral strategy is very much a drowning thing. Furthermore, her rhetoric and bandied about proclamations of ousting the government does not ring true with the electoral process.
No one is ousted from power in a fair democratic election. Parties compete for office fairly, with equal chances of victory. The winner takes office. The loser goes into opposition. Only dictators are ousted from their seats. Suppose that Begum Zia knows that (why would she not?–she was married to one) This implies that Begum Zia wants to tag the AL as a dictatorial party in power. And though there’s some reason to hold a candle to that thought, in broad terms that description is a caricature. She is ginning up propaganda against the sitting majority in Parliament. The damnable thing about her caricature propaganda is that though untrue, it is also falling flat. The public still supports the AL’s policies and will very likely maintain that support for some time to come. There are plenty of legitimate grounds on which the AL could be legitimately attacked. The pathetic thing is that the BNP has yet to point out those clearly delineated grounds.
(I’ll soon have some thoughts on whether it can be coherent to suppose that there are obvious interests of the people and country–beyond the necessities, those goods and services the lack of provision of which delegitimize a government, much to the chagrin of the Zardari government in Pakistan.)
