“Listen, this BNP won’t do. Mind you, if they could follow Ziaur Rahman, things would have been different,” a BNP leader said words to this effect on a video released on Youtube recently.
Leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party observed that these words reveal the inner story of the 37-year-old political party.
It was BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed who uttered these words in the video that was leaked recently.
The party is scheduled to hold 37th founding anniversary and it is also to observe 34th death anniversary of its founder Ziaur Rahman.
Leaders and activists of the party said the BNP was passing through critical times, three decades after it was founded.
BNP ran a four-month nonstop movement and also joined the city corporation elections, but to no avail.
The leaders and activists of the party are weary from the movement, facing attacks, cases by the members of the law enforcement agencies, as well as the fear of killing and forced disappearance. The question is, will BNP be able to emerge from such a critical condition?
Bazlul Karim Chowdhury (Abed), former senior vice president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, confirmed that Moudud came up with such comments over the phone while talking about the policy and tactics of BNP following the movement. The telephonic conversation took place on 4 May.
Former vice chancellor of Dhaka University professor Emajuddin Ahmed thinks that the present BNP lacks certain elements of the BNP which existed during the time of Ziaur Rahman. He told Prothom Alo that Ziaur Rahman had organised BNP with a vision of keeping the youth at the forefront, but presently it was not possible to organise the youth. It is as if the students and workers have been separated from the party.
Sources in BNP said the party leaders are making such comments in private and during unofficial discussions as there was less opportunity to discuss the ‘rights and wrongs’ of the party policies at the party’s policy forum or other platforms.
The three-month nonstop blockade and strike, followed by the city corporation elections, were not decided upon through any party forum. There has been no standing committee meeting after the four-month movement and the city corporation elections. The party also did not made any assessment of its failure or achievements during the continuous movement.
The party’s top leadership is talking about a reorganisation of the party. They are thinking of organising the party’s central council by November-December this year and forming the committees according to the field-level leaders. However, a part of the party policy makers think the initiative would not progress after various interventions, as in the past. Three important leaders of the party said reorganising the party is just a show. All of the leaders agreed that the party has moved away from the ideology of its founder Ziaur Rahman and that is why it is in its present predicament. The party’s policy and strategy regarding the movement is also not correct.
BNP vice president Abdullah Al Noman also accepted that “BNP is in crisis after facing pressure from the government.” However, he said, this was a temporary setback. Awami League also was in such condition during their six-point movement.
Several top leaders of BNP seeking anonymity said that Ziaur Rahman’s BNP was a moderate liberal democratic political party. But now there is a general perception that BNP is a right-wing political party. The main objective of the party during its formation was to combine elements of all viewpoints, but this is now very weak. The long-term alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami is the main reason for this condition. A part of the party’s leadership think that being allied with Jamaat in the movement is giving Awami League the upper hand to campaign against BNP in home and abroad. On the other hand, BNP also did not clarify its stand over the judgment on the crimes against humanity during the liberation war where the party’s founder is a valiant freedom fighter and a big part of the party’s senior leaders are freedom fighters.
Sources in BNP said, Ziaur Rahman presented a 19-point proposal as the basis of BNP while forming the party. The party does not follow these points properly. Most of the leaders and activists do not even know the 19 points. The party is also unable to involve the people in its movement.
BNP joint secretary general Muhammad Shahjahan said, “I am not denying that BNP has been diverted from the ideology of Ziaur Rahman in certain instances, but it is still based on his ideals. The present leaders lack the sacrifice, patriotism, and honesty of the leaders of his time. There is also a lack of commitment.” He remarked that changes in social and political culture were responsible for this.
The leader said, Ziaur Rahman disliked flattery. Once, a senior official went to give Zia a cup of coffee. Instead of taking the cup, Zia looked at him and said, “There are waiters. This is not your job.”
The leader also said Ziaur Rahman wanted to unite qualified people, but the party’s condition is not like that anymore. Khaleda Zia is now surrounded by sycophants.
Another leader blames Khaleda Zia for this. In his opinion, Khaleda Zia gives these sycophants leeway. Most of the senior leaders now are not eager to meet Khaleda Zia in person.
A part of BNP’s senior leaders feel, BNP for some years now has been demanding elections under a non-party government. That means BNP aspires to ascend to power. It was proven that fair elections are not possible under a political government. BNP has 80% of the public vote at present. However, people are not taking to the streets. They perhaps feel there will not be much difference if BNP comes to power. BNP is not making it clear that how the party will provide democracy, the rule of law and so on.
Additionally, BNP would follow the policy of friendly relations with all states. Later its anti-Indian stand becoame more pronounced. It is now paying the price for its stand. However, the anti-Indian view has been subsided. On the other hand, BNP has endeavoured to keep good relations with western countries, particularly with the US and virtually did not help them in any way.
The party also suffers from organisational weaknesses and lack of trust within the party. Even mobile phones were not allowed during the standing committee meeting and this annoyed some of the leaders. The members were asked to leave their shoes outside the room before entering a meeting of the top leaders of the 20-party alliance. This irked many of the leaders, said one of the top leaders of the alliance.
According to several senior leader of BNP, the standing committee does not have any role in taking decisions. The chairperson herself, or some of her close people, takes all the decisions. The decisions then appear in the media.
Senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman has considerable clout among the younger leaders and thus a significant section of the senior leaders are unable to accept him. Some of them think the the strategy and plans of the recent movement came from Tarique Rahman. As a result, the senior leaders did not feel any compulsion towards the movement.
Professor AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, founding secretary general of BNP and associate of Ziaur Rahman, on Thursday accused BNP of straying from the work, policies and ideals of Ziaur Rahman. He said, “BNP needs introspection.”
BNP standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman also agreed with the former president. He said, “We have failed to follow the personal character, ideals, spirit and and democratic mindset of Ziaur Rahman. We have moved far off from his way of thinking. That is why we have failed in our movement.”
Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University’s department of international relations, said Badruddozza Chowdhury’s comments in the presence of Khaleda Zia was a positive sign. He said such discussions should have happened earlier as he thinks that the opposition should be more democratic than the government, or the people would not support them. BNP has to consolidat its democratic structure. They will lose the people’s support if they adhere to the propensity towards dynastic politics and corruption.
Source: Prothom Alo