AL men strike again

A high school headmaster was allegedly beaten up by a local Awami League (AL) leader and his gang in Gangni upazila of Meherpur on the first day of the New Year. The altercation between the headmaster and this "leader" arose because of the former's refusal to include an individual the leader had recommended as president of the school's management committee. First of all, there is the procedure of election to be followed when selecting school management committees and such schools are not the personal property of any political party activist or leader. 

The victim, a former freedom fighter, was beaten up in the most barbarous manner! He was literally pummeled with hammers. His refusal to acquiesce to an unjust demand led to this lesson in manners being meted out by the perpetrators. This is not the first time local ruling party activists have acted in this fashion. Indeed, we have been reporting these incidents for some time now. The question now is not about how fast the police can apprehend the perpetrators, rather, the seeming impunity with which such party activists go around brutalising people who have the guts to refuse their unjust demands. 

Rule of law is what counts in any civilised country, and that is what the masses want above all else. Precisely how long will the ruling party allow this sort of criminal activity to continue is what concerns us and rest of the country. Is this the sort of image AL would like to portray to the electorate when it goes to the polls in not too distant a future?