Current 'political crisis' deeper than ever before: Prof Riaz

The current 'political crisis' Bangladesh is now going through is deeper than that of past 46 years, said Professor Ali Riaz yesterday.

“To understand the reason behind the crisis and identify the future pathway of the country's politics, four things are needed to be looked at -- the current face of governance, reaction from the new class of social stratification, influence of Islamists on society and politics; and the role of India,” the noted international political analyst said.

Speaking at the 23rd monthly public lecture titled 'Future Trends of Politics in Bangladesh' organised by Reading Club Trust and Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation at the Sirajul Islam Lecture Hall in Dhaka University, he said a hybrid 'regime' is going on in the country, where ensuring everyone's participation and right to vote is a 'matter of big concern'.

Prof Riaz, who teaches at the Department of Politics and Government in Illinois State University, USA, called the current government a 'regime' because he said 'regime lasts longer than any government'.

Claiming election as the only legal base to be in power, Ali Riaz said: “After the 2008 election and the 15th amendment to the constitution, a new type of political system has come into the scene where election has been turned into a tool of authority, rather being a tool of democracy.”

After the cancellation of the caretaker government system, now it has become impossible to defeat the ruling party, he said, adding that once there was a vibrant civil society in the country which is now missing.

In his lecture, Prof Ali Riaz also said Islamisation of society has increased to a great extent in the last one decade, and the need of Islamists will be seen in the future to validate lopsided election and mobilise grassroots voters.

Presiding over the public lecture, political scientist Rounaq Jahan condemned the ongoing violence over the quota reformation movement, and urged the youth to find a way out of this unstable situation.