I’ve written on this before; now, sadly, I’m writing on this again, so here goes: I could not then, cannot now and will not, ever, defend the jerked, jolting way that every instrument of industry, learning and commerce in Bangladesh has shuttered for the second time this month just because one lady with political pull was kicked out of a home that she ill-deserved to occupy for nearly thirty years.
The terribly disruptive BNP strikes followed the Supreme Court’s rejection of Begum Khaleda Zia’s appeals agains the declaration that she must leave the premises of her dwelling in Dhaka’s Cantonment. The rushed affair, couched in the language of ‘government misrule’ brought out the riot police and forced down every available engine of the economy for another day, losing another dollar.
This cannot go on; for if it does, the BNP will have lost all credibility as a party capable of governing a country beset by a weak, but rising economy. The business class will dessert the right-leaning party in a way, it might not be ready to accept, judging by its malfeasance out of power.
For its part, the Awami League needs to be less repressive and combative in political contests of this sort. This, since its political moves have swayed many recalcitrant observers that, yes, it is truly in charge of the country’s governance in a forward thinking, steady manner. Indeed, the Awami Leagues foreign and economic policy seems to have fit well with the growing push and pull of demand in Asia. The business community is already gravitating toward AL leader Sheikh Hasina’s moves. The BNP, under Begum Zia, would do well to moderate its behavior lest it lose all credentialed supporters out in the world.