Chintito

Of Political Parasites

CHINTITO

The other week I wrote that not every Awami League critic is a razakar. There is perhaps greater truth in a diametrical axiom: Persons favoured by the AL are not the only Awami Leaguers. Why I do not bring in BNP, whose beneficiaries are no better, as the case for example of a former High Commissioner to UK during 9/11 will bear witness, is because today events surrounding the pro-Liberation forces is contextual.

When a party is in power, the government will have to appoint some people, rightly chosen or erroneously, well advised or ill, quality or bin, party person or outsider, deserving or not, by suitability or insensibility, to run the many organs of the state, the institutions, the universities, the corporations, the commissions, the sports federations, the academies, and so on. That is not a real problem, despite the fact that the selection process is rife with partisan and parochial pushing and pulling, lifting and suppressing, backbiting and sycophancy, to promote a favoured candidate or to bury an adversary, most often unfairly, all at the cost of putting the blame squarely on the leader, who for obvious reasons has to rely on some of her associates.

The problem is the moment a person is so appointed, after pulling all the strings that could constitute a city orchestra, he assumes a façade that reeks of vana gloria, that indeed he and none but he was the 'chosen one'. That, albeit sadly and excessively irritatingly, is also not a seriously damaging problem.

The major problem surfaces when the blessed chap wants to make the world around him (which is about the size of his constituency, corporation, or campus) believe that there is no greater an Awami Leaguer or a BNPite than he, depending on when he was installed on the evanescent throne. You can, of course, 'she' the 'he' depending on the gender of the nouveau imperator.

During any regime you will find such vulgar people donning the robe of secretaries, chairpersons, VCs, ambassadors, DGs, and Members, named here not necessarily in any order of superiority, a privilege that was hijacked by government employees; servants is a more appropriate word but now they are the ones that are served.

That brings us to last week's hot topical topic, the locked horns at BUET where teachers, students and employees are demanding the removal/resignation of VC and PVC because of their corrupt practices, such as results tampering, discrepant dealing with students registration, and employment bungling.

Theirs is a glaring example of how spineless souls can ruin the image of a political party by taking uncalled-for biased action that was not necessary. There are thousand many ways to remain loyal to a party, if that be the call of the day, other than by blindly bending the book, because they forget that the law that they flout is framed among others by the offices of the President (also Chancellor) and the PM. The best form of loyalty is to enhance the image of the President and the PM, which I believe is the unwritten ToR for all appointments. Alas! If only the BUET VC/PVC would realise.

The country has not witnessed such a long nonviolent and peaceful, yet resolute movement, demanding the ouster of a couple of under-performers in the right areas and over-performers in the wrong, who have done Awami League more harm than its enemies. (I can hear the hyena laughter of the 1971 War criminals.) I note with dismay that even the media is missing the peaceful aspect of the BUET movement; due acknowledgement of which will encourage a vast change in our nature of protest and demand.

So twisted is his head by his 'success' on becoming a VC that Nazrul Islam told TV Channel 24 last Monday (news 11.12pm) that he can 'sell BUET'. The broadcast generated Facebook responses from BUET alumni such as 'wow', 'nirlojjo', 'insane', 'half-mad to full mad', and 'nongra'. Said one: 'He thinks it is his father's property.' Another commented: 'If he became PM, he would say that he could sell the country'. One lady wrote: 'his place is not BUET, but Pabna's Hemyatepur'. One suggested: 'let us buy it and pay him with kicks'.

Sad, but his was not the purpose of his appointment. If the VC/PVC were true supporters of the pro-liberation philosophy, they would have resigned at the beginning of the movement instead of trying to portray the entire university as a bastion of jamaat. If that were true, how did the two AL-backed candidates win so convincingly in the last MP elections? Those resignations would have been a saving grace for the government.

Since he could not serve to enhance the image of the Chancellor, the PM and the party, the VC and his PVC should be summarily removed as political parasites. The appointing authority should be rationally advised by their confidantes so that the new appointments may start healing the wounds; the national elections are not that afar.

 

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