MP, ministerial posts ‘commodities’ under market fundamentalism: CPB’s Selim

MP and ministerial positions become commodities to be bought and sold when the economy is dictated by "market fundamentalism", Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Presidium Member Mujahidul Islam Selim said today.

"Politics is the concentrated expression of economics. If the economy is one of looting, the politics will be of looting," he said.

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Selim made the remarks at the Star Elections Dialogue, titled "Your Party, Voters' Questions", organised by The Daily Star at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.

The veteran leftist leader argued that to get out of this "cycle of bribery and corruption", the underlying economic structure must be addressed.

He said the 1971 Liberation War was not fought to establish a capitalist state. "We did not fight in 1971 to build a capitalist Bangladesh. We fought for a new society based on socialism," he said, adding that this dream remains unfulfilled after 54 years.

Addressing governance, he criticised the current top-down approach to development.

"Sitting in an air-conditioned room at the Planning Commission to make plans will achieve nothing. Plans must rise from the bottom -- from the village, union, and thana levels," he noted.

He advocated for a statutory provision where 30 to 40 percent of the national budget is automatically allocated to local governments, regardless of which party is in power. He distinguished this from past efforts, terming the decentralisation under the Ershad-regime merely a "decentralisation of autocracy".

The CPB leader heavily criticised the influence of money in the electoral process, specifically targeting the decision to raise the security deposit for candidates to Tk 50,000.

"A farm labourer in my country never sees Tk 50,000 at once in his life. By this declaration, you have de facto made 90 percent of the people ineligible to be candidates," Selim argued. "Where is the level playing field?"

He urged the Election Commission to take action against candidates who spend crores of taka even before the election schedule is announced.

Discussing the 2024 mass uprising, he warned against narratives that attribute the movement to a "mastermind" or "meticulous planning".

"If there was a mastermind and meticulous planning, it wouldn't be spontaneous. What is organised is not spontaneous. The lesson from this uprising is that we must value the spontaneous power of the people," he observed.

While praising the Gen Z for their achievements, he cautioned them not to ignore the continuity of history. "If we do not try to forge a path by learning from history, we will make mistakes. Everything cannot be done by willpower alone," he said.