Stick with the parliament

A leopard never changes its stripes. Chameleon, literally a certain species of lizard, however, keeps changing the colour of its skin. The first one is a metaphor for political rigidity and the second of expediency and opportunism. Both are used as pejoratives. Still, if you ask me which one is a lesser evil, I will say, the leopard. That is because the animal speedster refuses to change, and is therefore, a known quantity. But the exclusive kind of lizard of American origin sloughing off its skin to emerge in a look is deceptive and scary.

At issue is the drama enacted around the opposition's rejoining of parliament. It is plausible that the BNP went to parliament to save their membership at the nick of time. Even though they had no compunction in enjoying perks and privileges during absenteeism like their immediate predecessors, it has become a part of the cavalier culture.

There can be two gracious ways of looking at the issue. One, isn't saving membership better than en masse resignation from parliament enacted by AL in cahoots with Jamaat in 1995? The move forced the then BNP government's hands into conceding the now-defunct caretaker system. In a reversal of the scenario that option remains a possibility with the BNP and Jamaat resigning wholesale from parliament in protest against AL not yielding ground on nonpartisan headship of an interim arrangement presaging one-sided election.

Secondly, after 83 days of continuous absence in parliament, the BNP MPs still had a week to spare before the 90-day mark to regularise. But they chose to attend the budget session on the inaugural day, Monday, a marker of recognising that they have an important piece of unfinished business to settle with the government. This should not be lost on the ruling party.

Of course, the government had taken the well-judged decision to let off BNP leaders -- MK Anwar and Barkatullah Bulu -- from prison to enable them to attend the JS session. This by itself, however, is not enough to create a condition conducive to a dialogue; the other captive BNP leaders need to be released to that end.

The first woman Speaker of the parliament has been lavished with superlatives by the ruling party MPs but the opposition entered the parliament after the Speaker's speech to make a point or two. Leader of the opposition on entry, however, greeted the new Speaker. There was an element of subtle humour when an opposition MP while wondering over a non-MP becoming the Speaker made a point of the AL's refusal to accept an unelected person at the helm of an interim caretaker arrangement!

The opposition's first day in parliament saw a genial atmosphere; no abusive language was traded and a tenor seemed set for an engaging session. But the next two days changed the mood. The textile minister could not resist the remark that like 'military autocrat Ziaur Rahman destroyed country's politics by grabbing state power the same way he did with the jute mills by denationalising them.' That provoked the first walkout by the BNP. The second was waiting to happen when the foreign minister said, 'Tarique is not a politician but a fugitive.' Were these comments called for, especially in the context these were delivered? Commonsense says, not.

For the BNP's part, breaking the previous record of boycotting the budget sessions of parliament which runs into five goes down as an act of irresponsibility. But then they have decided to dissect the budget in the discussion phase which is a positive record breaker.

Truth has many shades in Bangladesh; one has difficulty penetrating the layers to get to the authentic version of it. Most baffled are the foreigners as country's politicians depending on their affiliations gleefully read conspiracies into each other's positioning and action. And whilst their followers dance to the tune of their mentors the general mass are resigned to a fait accompli. So decimated has been the psyche of the people that many of them have lost the capacity for independent judgment.

Think-tanks and research bodies like CPD, TIB, Odhikar, international watchdogs on human rights and the media though overlooked by the political parties except where they are critical of the opponent remain repositories of independent viewpoints. But as Oscar Wilde has said, "An unbiased opinion is always absolutely valueless", the well-wishers of Bangladesh of which we have a plenty are only biased towards the country's bright future.

The ruling party with a brute majority bulldozed legislations through the parliament, mostly to serve its ends. And, the opposition have tried to use street power in vain to topple the government. After having vaulted new heights of self-glorification (read abdication for the opposition!) and handholding with jehadis and the youthful liberals as the case may be, both have dropped thudding on the concrete surface of realism.

Are they still playing to the gallery or to their international constituencies or to the dictates of national interest is a question that would hopefully be answered sooner rather than later.

The writer is Associated Editor, The Daily Star.
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