Nowhere lower to go to.. Photo: Viktor Chornobay

Life is precious. However, the recent mud-slinging centring round the train tragedy in Sirajgonj and the upazila chairman murder in Natore very clearly point to the bare fact that the life of ordinary people is the least important thing to our all-powerful and all-important leaders. The tragedies also betray the political bankruptcy of our leaders in a very clear manner.
In Sirajgonj, a number of BNP supporters sitting on the train tracks got killed as a train ran over them. Consequently, the mob and the opportunists beat the train driver and a guard to death and beat up innocent passengers along with looting at their will. It was indeed a tragedy for the families of the dead persons. The train was also set on fire, causing more damage to this resource-constrained country.
Painfully, however, the tragedy has also turned out to be a rallying for our political leaders. Both the ruling party and the opposition stalwarts have been involved in an orgy of blame-game ever since instead of trying to get to the root of the train tragedy, which requires a clinical inquiry to get the real facts.
Apparently, this was an accident that could have been averted. It has been learnt that the train was unknowingly headed towards disaster. Anyway, the government should go for an objective investigation as to why and how the train ploughed into the mob. Why did the police allow the throng to stay on the train track that was used frequently?
Meanwhile, the BNP, too, has to share the blame because its leaders allowed the party supporters to stay on the tracks and did not caution them regarding the frequent coming and going of trains along that track. Does it not imply that the leaders care little for the workers' lives, or else why did they send the supporters onto the rail tracks other than opting for a safer place?
I reckon, even the ones who died should have known they were only courting death by sitting on the rail tracks. While they will not get the chance to rue their death, their hapless families are now left to lament the tragic loss of their near and dear ones.
One should not forget about the equally tragic death of the train driver and the train guard at the hands of the angry mob. It is common knowledge that a train is not like other vehicles that can be stopped instantly with the help of brakes. The driver might not have been aware of the people sitting on the tracks. However, it should be an unparalleled lesson for the ordinary supporters of our mammoth political parties.
Meanwhile, the murder of an upazila chairman in Natore, allegedly by the pro-government goons, highlights the deteriorating law and order situation in the country and the ruling party's sheer failure to rein-in the party goons. While video footages showed involvement of ruling party goons, the speeches by ruling party stalwarts and efforts to attribute that murder to BNP-infighting are totally untenable, and are very likely to draw flak from the general people.
Such moves by the ruling party will not only hinder the process of objective investigation, but will also further embolden the party goons. The ruling party policy makers cannot afford to forget the fact that its front organisations have already done plenty of damage to its image by being involved in tender-looting and extortion. Unfortunately, however, the people have not seen anything concrete, other than the party leadership being unhappy with the bad boys.
While the bad boys continue to turn many people's lives miserable, the leadership's admonitions only add to the woes of the sufferers. Ironically, while the objective media of the country keep on advising the government to take punitive actions against the miscreants masqueraded as ruling party activists, the ruling party incumbents continue to dish out lip-service only. One fails to understand for how long our leadership will take the common people for granted.
Interestingly indeed, the BNP is reportedly flexing its muscles to wage a strong movement against the government on the issue of its supreme leader's cantonment house. Was it not more logical for the party to wage a strong movement for seeking justice regarding the upazila chairman murder and the Sirajgonj tragedy, rather than heating up the political scenario for a personal issue of its leader?
Does it not expose the party's inclinations towards personal interests, rather than common and governance-related issues? The country is indeed going through a troubled period. It is an irony that our political leaders from both sides are persistently contributing to worsening of the situation.
While the opposition party leaders are busy capitalising on the miseries of ordinary people, the ruling party big guns are constantly providing ammunition to the fire by ill-advised invectives. While the opposition is failing in its duties to inform and sensitise the people properly, the ruling party big shots are severely exposing their flaws in governance.

Kazi S.M. Khasrul Alam Quddusi is Chair, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong. E-mail: [email protected].