As if we don't have enough

The last day of the 1st session of the 9th Parliament ended on a positive note with both the prime minister (PM) and the leader of the opposition (LO) having a lively face-off, which is a rarity in our parliamentary democracy where boycott and absenteeism have been the norm. The journey to democracy has met some unforeseen calamities and challenges. The most significant was the BDR mutiny, which continues to haunt the nation.
Amidst many pressing national issues, an addition has been the debate over the house allotted to the LO. Without going into the debate of what "conspiracy" has been hatched or what politics of "revenge" has been unleashed by whom, many believe that the LO could have scored big with the public sentiment had she given up the house for the families of the martyred BDR personnel.
How? She could have gained significant political mileage by this act of generosity. It is true that she can have an emotional attachment to a house that has memories of her husband and the family. Being the widow of an army officer, her sympathy towards the families of the martyred army officials would have been perceived as genuine. She could have put an end to this debate on the appropriateness of having political meetings in the cantonment, which is supposed to be a restricted zone.
Given the allegations of corruption against her family, this act could have sent a positive signal to many who believe in the allegations. Because there is another house in Gulshan allotted to her, it would not be a problem to find alternative accommodation.
When the opposition BJP questioned the legality of Ms. Sonia Gandhi's being head of a trust fund while she was a sitting MP, she instantly resigned from the parliament seat and the trust. She then ran for re-election. Ms. Gandhi was re-elected, outsmarting Mr. Advani and Mr. Vajpayee. This is called smart politics. Let the readers judge what kind of politics we have.
Now that it seems that the LO will not leave the house, was it that urgent to take this step when we have enough on our plate? When opposition party activists are equating this act to that of BNP's cancellation of the Gonobhaban allotted to the then PM by the then ruling AL it does seem like "tit for tat" -- doesn't it ? Even if the government desired to pursue this matter, there is something called "appropriate timing."
The BDR investigation is still on, with rumours, apprehensions, and blame game in full swing. The nation is anxiously waiting for the truth be unearthed. Then we have the functionality and credibility of the ACC facing a challenge. The government and opposition are acting unitedly to undermine, discredit, and disempower the ACC as much as possible.
The dream of having an empowered local government system has gone down the drain as MPs have again come together for the "greater national cause" of maintaining their firm grip over the Upazilla Parishad. Then you see the godfathers and scamsters, who were absconding, resurfacing with an air of impunity.
Of course, not to mention the global recession which is hurting Bangladesh in one form or the other. From losing overseas job market to tightening financial conditions, the economy is going through difficult times inspite of the deft handling by the finance minister and the success of the agriculture minister in putting a lid on the price hikes.
The bottom line is that we have enough problems -- political, economic, administrative, and security -- calling for corrective and positive actions to keep us occupied. This is not the time to either hear opposition activists threatening to bring down a government over the issue of a leased house or see the government's adamancy in pursuing this agenda heart and soul. We have enough on our platter already. Please, let's behave responsibly.

Syed Munir Khasru is a Professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka.