Lonely Ershad ignored by party MPs

Faruque Ahmed

Jatiya Party chairman H M Ershad is facing troubles one after another. In fact, he is standing now on the quick sands and as he knew where the source of his troubles lies, neither he can air out his wounds in total freedom nor he can bear the brunt of the growing pressure which aims at isolating him from his party leadership.

Ershad had called a meeting of his party leaders on Wednesday but only four MPs turned up at the meeting while the remaining 30 including his wife Raushan were absent to bring new shock and remorse to the former autocrat president Lt. Gen. Hussain Mohammad Ershad.
He explained his delicate situation to party men at the meeting saying “Jatiya Party is facing artificial crisis. I do not want to talk about the January 5 elections and even I will not explain why I have boycotted the polls.” He continued, ‘I have a lot of things to say but I cannot. I will explain everything on some other day.”

In between hell and heaven
In fact he is in between hell and heaven. If he continues to cooperate with the ruling party keeping silent at his party’s subservient role in Parliament, after it had toyed the ruling party’s line in January 5 voter-less election, he would be safe. Otherwise he may land in trouble.
Ershad was put in a friendly confinement by the government when he refused to take part in the unilateral election and his wife was pressured to take the party to the polls thus virtually breaking the party a new. Meanwhile he was elected to parliament from the confinement and was forced to take oath and take seat in the House.
He was given to understand that his politics and the party he commands must be complementary to Awami League politics. He has no independent space or role in the country’s political system, except serving the cause of Awami League now and in the future. Any indication of revolt may cost him dearly including the party leadership and the absence of the party MPs from attending his meeting was a clear reminder to him in this case.
Ershad’s wife Raushan Ershad-led Jatiya Party is now in the government holding three cabinet posts while it is also acting as a friendly opposition in the House which the ruling party shows as so-called multi-party face of its politics.
It has been possible now because the JP’s factional leadership is now in total control of the ruling Awami League and one may easily guess that the JP MPs were absent at Ershad’s meeting on some instruction from the government; or else at least Raushan Ershad should have attended it.

Maj. Gen. Monzur muder case
Meanwhile, Ershad had thought he could be exonerated this time from Maj. Gen. Monzur muder case which was carried out on June 2 night allegedly on Ershad’s order when he was the Chief of Army Staff, after the assassination of former President Ziaur Rahman on May 29, 1981. Ershad is facing the case over the last 19 years as the number one accused and the verdict of the case was scheduled for February 10.
But the nation was struck by the transfer of the presiding judge last month sending the signal that the government wants to keep the verdict of the case hanging to keep the fate of H M Ershad also hanging.
There is a fear in Ershad’s mind that the government may even give him the death sentence in the case if he breaks apart from toeing the ruling party line of politics. The government is using his fear by shifting the date of verdict.
Now the new judge who is the 23rd judge hearing the case has fixed new date of hearing the arguments on February 27 before giving verdict and it means new manoeuvring for yet another uncertain period, and Ershad has nothing to do except working as an unwilling partner of the ruling party politics.
Death sentence has become easy now that anybody may be in the danger if the government finds him hostile to ruling party politics. Ershad is quite aware of it particularly as the witnesses in the case have made deposition of his involvement, besides the charge sheet showed his complicity in Maj. Gen. Manzur murder, apparently to hide his involvement in Zia murder case.
There is a common perception that judiciary in the country often go by the advice of the government. It is part of ongoing politics and there is hardly any secret. So Ershad is in a totally hapless condition when the ruling party is running his JP as the ‘B’ team in their politics. It has moreover become easier with the presence of some highly pro-Awami League elements at the senior echelon of the party.
So H M Ershad can’t even cry aloud now. He urged his party lawmakers at the meeting, “Come back to me if you want a better tomorrow and said if you disobey my order you will be no more needed in my party in future.’’

High level conspiracy
Ershad himself blamed high level conspiracy to destroy the party. It was a big shock to him as over 200 party candidates withdrew nomination papers to contest the January 5 election on his order including his brother and former cabinet minister G M Qader.
But the pro-Awami League elements held the ground and later joined the polls with Raushan Ershad as the alternative party leader in the changed situation. They did not respond to his call.
Censuring the party leaders who contested the January 5 election violating his order and even some have joined the cabinet, Ershad told the meeting, ‘‘I am taking responsibility of 200 candidates who withdrew their nominations after my announcement to boycott the polls and my order to withdraw nomination.’’
His outcry made headlines. He told party leaders ‘‘You are like my children. I have created the Jatiya Party and if the dissidents come back I will forgive them.’’ The former military dictator directed the party activists to campaign for the upcoming upazila elections and announced that he would campaign for the candidates indicating an independent stance in the upazila polls.
It remains much to be seen how H M Ershad would carve out his party politics now and in future in a situation if the control of the party remains in the hand of the government, other than the faction led by Kazi Zafar which has joined the BNP led 19-party opposition alliance.

Source: UNBConnect