While our country has gone through democratic changes for fifteen years, successive governments have eroded accountable development process. Consequently, huge development fund siphoned away and landed into the hands of people who can comfortably afford to spend to confirm their candidature and buy muscle power to snatch away victory from their opponents who can ill afford to match the like.

To create sustained and accountable development process developing countries need efficient, well informed, religious, (not fanatic/extremist), patriot, honest, learned, dedicated, democratic in other wards "clean" parliamentarians. Unfortunately, though democracy has been uninterruptedly in practice for fifteen years, our country has seen alarming decline in the number of "clean" people filling parliament seats.

Today political parties on one hand cannot lure/nominate "clean" candidates to represent them in their constituencies, and on the other hand if albeit found willing to nominate but tend to decline for they (clean candidates) cannot match the money and muscle their opponents can muster. The cumulative effect the country will have to endure when such prospect becomes reality in every constituency is a nightmare.

Therefore, today the overriding question in people's mind: has their country gained in democratic practices for fifteen years or has lost it through ill gotten money that has been in circulation to destroy our nascent democracy.

Against the above backdrop of dangerous negative thinking, civil society has come into fore to make people aware that there is still time for people to make their contribution to bring goodness into the process by getting involved through closely participating in the political process without directly joining a party. Their involvement will pave the way for the law abiding "clean" members of the public now distancing from politics to come forward for making their due contribution to nation by getting involved in the political process.

Situation cannot be allowed to worsen further when general election is only a few months away. To give people wake up call to resist corrupt and incompetent persons from entering into next parliament with whatever non-violent means they can, the initiative for floating citizens' group with eminent, honest, experienced, successful personalities like Dr. Yunus with his twelve-point formula and others cannot be better timely. Such group may be formed in other places too.

In past, influx of huge fund happened under the guise of development, now when corruption has sown its seeds it needs to be eradicated. Let's vow to work with whatever capacity we have to bring about the changes that nation longed for.

S S Nasim A Chowdhury is a resident of Chittagong.