In Bangladesh, it is time for politics to be reclaimed by politicians. In the eighteen months that went by under a dispensation not sanctioned by the will of the people, the country took steep slides into the abyss. Let there be no mistake.
The economy has been on a nosedive owing to the incompetence of the men and women who kept the nation in their grip. It has hit rock bottom. The rule of law, as evidenced by the activities of rampaging mobs across the land, was fugitive.
And now that President Mohammed Shahabuddin has revealed the circumstances he was confined in by the departed Yunus regime, one cannot but wonder at the way in which statecraft was undermined between August 2024 and mid-February 2026.
That the head of government, under the Constitution and in line with convention, thought little of staying in touch with the head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces and had little inclination to brief him on his return from visits abroad will forever remain a scandal in the history of the country.
Now that an elected government is in office, despite all those relevant questions pertaining to a non-inclusive election catapulting it to office, the moment is here to clear the decks, to reassure Bangladesh’s people that the principles upon which modern governments work will be restored.
It will need to be a restoration that must take into account the grievances President Shahabuddin aired in his recent interview with a newspaper.
Beyond the President, it is for citizens to expect the new government to launch meaningful investigations into the conduct of the now departed interim regime and its followers.
A crucial issue relates to the mobs that gathered around Bangabhaban demanding the resignation of the President. Who encouraged the mobs and waited for them to storm the presidential palace to force the President to quit or run for his life is a question that merits explanation.
The embarrassing instance of a young Yunus follower taking the oath as an advisor to the interim regime under the Constitution, the swearing-in conducted by the President, and then committing the atrocious act of pulling down the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the very room where the swearing-in took place raises questions of a grave violation of the Constitution.
For the new government, therefore, the imperatives are all there.
With allegations floating around of an advisor or some advisors instructing Bangladesh missions abroad to remove the portrait of the President in a shocking demonstration of arrogance or ignorance or both, investigating such reports is a necessity if politics is not to be commandeered by unelected outfits in the future.
The role of advisors who were instrumental in influencing the judiciary in a non-grant of bail to those arrested calls for a purposeful inquiry.
Which leads us to the issue of all the politicians, freedom fighters, journalists, theatre activists, judges and others who have languished in prison for eighteen months and have had no recourse to justice.
Shahriar Kabir, a deeply respected figure noted for his contributions to the history of the War of Liberation, suffers from major ailments and yet was compelled by the Yunus regime to remain in incarceration.
Journalists Mozammel Babu, Shyamol Dutta, Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Anis Alamgir and others have been denied access to the law. Asaduzzaman Noor, a foremost cultural activist and former minister, remains in incarceration. Former ministers and Awami League politicians have died in jail in questionable circumstances.
This is the dark legacy of the regime that has now been replaced by an elected government. It is refreshing to be informed by the new Home Minister that no mob rule will be tolerated, that all politically motivated detentions will be scrutinised by the administration.
That the so-called July Charter is nothing but a brazen attempt to undermine the Constitution is an issue the new Parliament must act on swiftly.
There are too the scores upon scores of ordinances issued by the Yunus regime, ordinances imposed on the country without the approval of the President, which call for scrutiny and action by the government.
The new dispensation will be taking a proper move in guiding the country back to representative government through setting aside all the reports prepared by the commissions set up by the unelected regime and relaunching democracy through a liberal new beginning.
The plate is full for the BNP government. It will need to revisit all the agreements the Yunus regime reached with overseas firms and foreign governments in order to reassure the nation that all steps militating against the interests of the country will not only be rolled back but also that individuals responsible for such acts will face the full force of the law.
A significant aspect of its governance is the two-thirds majority it has obtained at the election, a factor which should now be employed by the ruling party to reach out to the Awami League, the Jatiya Party and all other organisations which have historically upheld the foundational values of the republic.
Politics is about accommodation and inclusivity, a point the new government ought to promote purposefully.
Bangladesh’s people have paid a high price in the eighteen months that ended with the induction of the newly elected government in office.
They have been shocked and mute witnesses to the destruction of all monuments and symbols relating to the War of Liberation. It is time to bring every individual involved in or presiding over such anarchy to account.
Unless these present concerns are addressed firmly and meaningfully, there will be the danger that the future will be weighed down by the darkness the country was subjected to in the period between August 2024 and February 2026.
The rule of law, ladies and gentlemen, rule of law. Which means bringing the votaries and adherents of mob rule and their patrons to justice.
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We are not yet out of the woods. But there is a certain chink of light we should be moving toward, ever cautiously, in the coming weeks and months.
It is time for Muhammad Yunus, his advisors and their mob followers to have their comeuppance.
