Awami League MPs fear public wrath- Failure to meet polls pledges

Sagar Biswas
The Awami League-led grand alliance lawmakers are now deliberately avoiding visit to their constituencies fearing possible public outburst following rampant failure in service-oriented sectors and depriving people in the name of development projects.(The New Nation )Talking to The New Nation o nMonday, many expressed their apprehension that people’s anger may burst out onthe local representatives for different reasons; especially for deteriorationof law and order situation, price hike of essentials, power failure, countlessdeath in accidents and dilapidated condition in roads and highways.The fear of public wrath has escalated among the grand alliance lawmakers after the assault on whip SheikhA Abdul Wahab in Jessore, prompting the lawmakers to keep detached from theirvoters in their local areas, they said.

Angry locals attacked themotorcade of Jatiya Sangsad Whip Shaikh Abdul Wahab , a lawmaker from Jessore-6constituency, at Monirampur Upazila on Saturday. Wahab was going there to inaugurate the TRM embankment project atBilkapalia in Bhabadaha area. The local people opposed the construction of thedam under tidal river management without paying any compensation for usingtheir land. The whip escaped unhurt, but agitated people vandalised and setfire on many vehicles. Md Fazlul Azim, an independent MP from Noakhali-6 said,”I’m afraid of a rise in such incidents in near future. The government should take effectivemeasures to stop the incidents…….. And that is nothing but making the peoplehappy with materializing their dream for which they voted.”

Ruhul Amin Howlader, an MP andsecretary general of Jatiyo Party, said, “We can’t blame the people if thegovernment fails to fulfill the electoral pledges even after the lapse of threeyears of its tenure.”

“The latest incident ofattack on whip Sheikh Abdul Wahab is the example of people’s intolerance fortheir deprivation. I hope, the government will be more careful to handle publicdemand. Otherwise, more people may burst into fury,” he stated.

Home minister Sahara Khatun,however, refrained from making any comment regarding the issue when she was asked whether her ministry has got any report about the possible publicoutburst on the lawmakers.

Requesting anonymity, an AL lawmaker said that the party high-ups have expressed concern over such public outburst and asked the MPs to avoid such embarrassing situation at any cost.

Some of the AL MPs also expressedtheir annoyance over some provocative activities by some lawmakers, which alsoled to severe pubic outburst in different areas.

AL MP Capt (retd) Giasuddin Ahmedcame under attack in Gafargaon upazila on May 19 while he was returning to hisconstituency from Dhaka. The people became more agitated when Giasuddin firedone bullet from his licenced pistol.

The angry people had locked in abloody clash with the army personnel and law enforcers and ransacked severalestablishments including four army camps at Rupganj near Naraynaganj centeringa disputed construction of army housing society in October 2010. There was awidespread allegation that local lawmaker’s controversial role fueled people’sanger and put the situation out of control.

In another incident, a policeofficial was killed and several others injured when local people violentlyprotested the government’s decision to build a new airport at Arial Beel inMunshiganj last year. The role of local lawmakers and a state minister was alsoseverely blamed for the violence while the government had to bow down in fearof more violent public unrest.

Meanwhile, the present situationis so much terrifying that the frightened lawmakers did not hesitate to conducta verbal attack on their colleague — state minister for power, energy andmineral resources Brigadier General (rtd) Muhammad Enamul Huq — in parliamenton Sunday even in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is incharge of the same ministry, for unbridled power outages.

The legislators including NaniGopal Mondal, AL MP from Dakop-Batiaghata (Khulna-1), AL MP AK Mozammel Huqfrom Gazipur, AL MP, Shofiqul Islam from Jhenaidah-Harinakundu, AL MP ShamsurRahman Sherif from Pabna, AL MP Emaj Uddin Pramanik from Naogaon and JatiyaParty legislator Hafizuddin Ahmed warned state minister Enamul Huq that thegrand alliance might face dire consequences during the next general electionsif the government will not address people’s sufferings.

1 COMMENT

  1. The looting and thuggish behavior of AL MPs and their PM will make them vulnerable to the next election. People are sick of these politicians who are basically out there to fill their pockets with money and power. They began to think Bangladeshis have no other recourse except their ingenious nefarious designs. They use money to get elected and right after their arrival at the parliament, they become ROYALS. The PM looks like a descendent of a royal family with her decedents tagging along. Power belongs to the people. If these scoundrels ever followed this simple rule, Bangladesh could prosper. No matter what I write they will again come to power after the next government screws it up. Bangladeshis are hostage to these 2 parties and their inept leaders.

Comments are closed.