BC's interview with BBC
Former president BC's press interview with BBC, aired on February 3 in BBC Asia Today, attracted my attention. As always, he was very articulate. But when he was highlighting the failures of the AL and the BNP governments in tackling law and order, corruption and poverty alleviation, the interviewer really had him cornered when he asked the former President what he had done to address these issues when he himself held important positions in the BNP government. BC's answer sounded very lame when he said that he could not do anything because in Bangladesh, politics centred around one person, and in this case, presumably, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. What BC told the interviewer about Bangladesh's politics centring round one person is no doubt true. It has been so in Bangladesh's politics from day one. What is not understandable is why BC, with all his high credentials, went along with his leader for so long knowing that he had no power with her at the helm. Not only that, BC even lobbied to get for himself the office of President knowing there he would not even have the little reflected power that he enjoyed as a senior minister and BNP leader. Talking of dynastic politics, BC has one waiting in the wings in his son, who entered politics in the seat he vacated after becoming President. While going fully with BC's views on the ill nature of our politics, I feel angered that people like him upon whom the public who voted BNP to power put so much faith to work within the BNP to make it live to people's expectations is now aiming to destroy the BNP without proving even faintly that while in the BNP he had tried at all in setting BNP's politics in order. Public memory is short but let me remind the former President that it is not that short. During his brief tenure as President, he was cutting tapes by the dozens every day; talking and sermonising on politics that were, as a ceremonial president, not within his jurisdiction at all. He was finding faults with his government in public, embarrassing it in the process. He was, as they say in politics, cut to size when he was shown the door. Any other party would have done to him what the BNP did. As a third power, BC must prove to the public much more and just not sweet talk. As a member of the public, I hope those who are with the BNP and AL take lesson from BC's revelations and work with their leaders and establish democracy within the party first. Otherwise they would be working in putting their carts before their horses.
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