Tail up, govt plans damage repair act
The ruling Awami League is under the impression that the landmark verdict in the country's maritime row with Myanmar will help deflect public criticism over the government actions ahead of the BNP's March 12 grand rally.
The party is also planning to make the victory in the Bay a national issue through countrywide campaigns and celebrations, which will give it an opportunity to fire back at the government bashing.
Political scientists, on the other hand, say this achievement will leave positive impact on the government and AL temporarily. What will really count is the government's dealing with the political situation over the rest of its tenure.
Many ruling party leaders believe the recent news centring the allegation of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's receiving Rs 50 million from the Pakistani spy agency ISI ahead of the 1991 parliamentary polls is also another plus point for the ruling party.
On Wednesday, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in its verdict favoured Bangladesh's claim to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic and territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal.
“We have decided to celebrate our victory,” Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury told The Daily Star at her secretariat office. She said the date would be finalised later.
The cabinet at a meeting on Monday discussed the nature of maritime win celebrations.
A central AL leader said the opposition parties, including BNP, congratulated the government for the outcome in the international court.
“We also believe that people who were frustrated at the government steps ahead of the BNP's rally on March 12 have forgotten those and they are now praising it for the achievement.”
“It's a big achievement for both the government and the country. As a party, we will reap benefit once we conduct a massive campaign across the country on the issue,” AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The Daily Star.
He said they would chalk out programmes for the campaign soon.
Besides, he claimed, supporters were losing confidence in BNP as its chief Khaleda Zia had “received money ahead of the 1991 elections from the defeated force of the Liberation War”.
“Definitely the achievement is big. This will have a positive impact on the government and Awami League,” Prof Dr Harun-or-Rashid of Dhaka University, told The Daily Star.
But public perception on the government would largely depend on how it acts over the rest of its term, he said.
Over the ISI issue, Harun, pro-vice chancellor of DU, said many people think BNP is a pro-Pakistani party and this perception has got a firm base after the news of ISI funding.
Comments