BCL men halt RU recruitment exams

As the Awami League was garnering praise from all quarters due to the exemplary behaviour of the ruling party members during the Narayanganj city elections on Thursday, we were given a glimpse of how a democracy could function and peace prevail when ruling powers rein in its people. Sadly, just yesterday, we witnessed the polar opposite, as Bangladesh Chhatra League men wreaked havoc on the recruitment test at Rajshahi University.

With demands to give jobs to party men, the RU unit of BCL stopped the recruitment test. Around 3,308 job seekers, who had travelled from all parts of the country to sit for the examination, were forced out of the premises. When some protested, they were beaten up, their admit cards torn, while most just chose to leave knowing the consequences. To top it off, the president of Rajshahi city AL supported this "movement of locals, AL leaders and activists" citing "ulterior motives" for holding the recruitment exams. But what the BCL did was completely illegal and cannot be justified with any argument.

Sadly, this is the status quo. Last year, the General Secretary of Rajshahi AL had assaulted RU Vice Chancellor demanding jobs for ruling party men. Examples from this year, when BCL men were involved in hooliganism, are rife. 

This sense of entitlement is only one part of the problem. Impunity from the AL leadership perpetuates this culture of 'might is right.' We hear the AL leaders speak of enemies of AL, referring to external forces or political rivals, but it is the enemy within the party that needs to be tackled. Otherwise shining examples like the Narayanganj election will be obliterated by the smudges of misdeeds carried out by members of the ruling party.