For the seventh day our children were in streets raising thundery voice for justice. The fact is the government is in the grip of vested interests and not free to do justice to our children to make their or our lives safe. They know how to use police power to suppress popular demand instead of meeting a political crisis politically. This is most worrying and it is the main reason why the government failing the people.
Reckless driving has not ceased. Yesterday in a head-on collision between two buses in Savar and outskirts of the capital five more lives were lost in the midst of a nationwide students’ movement for safe roads. Now it is everybody to see that the rot is too widespread and the government too helpless to be in control.
We must be able to free the government and own it as the people’s government. We cannot leave our children alone in the streets. We must join forces with our children to go the long and hard way to establish justice in public affairs.
As elders we are ashamed for tolerating for so long grave wrongs in public affairs without being able to come together to be effective for change.
As elders we are ashamed for tolerating for so long grave wrongs in public affairs without being able to come together to be effective for change.
Those who are slavishly sycophants cannot see how the problem festering year after year in the transport sector has been the creation of the government’s misrule and unhindered corruption. They will also not admit that there is no easy solution for the deepening crisis spreading far and wide. The situation is explosive and the government not police force deal with our children in the streets. Now power politics. What is needed is for the government to think seriously about the desirable changes within the government itself. We need important changes in the government.
Serious rethinking is essential for bringing rightful changes in the working of the government and establishing public accountability for justice.
The men in power do not have to show their competence in running the government or that they are the people’s leaders and must serve the people. Who are the forces behind them is clouded and we cannot see.
No one becomes competent by competing among themselves on who can more profusely praise their leader for her success when others see misrule and corruption in abundance everywhere.
The sycophants are our national curse. They do not always seek personal gain, often they resort to flattery out of ingrained bad habit. They are not ready to consider a serious problem seriously.
Shockingly, an eminent architect claimed Thursday that the solution for ensuring safety on the roads can be achieved by the Prime Minister only as daughter of Father of the Nation. He was not thinking of her competence. He is otherwise a respectable man and a popular TV Talk Show personality. But he is also a Bangali.
Sycophancy is embedded in our character. Perhaps that is why Tagore said it regretfully but famously that we have remained Bangali and could not become humans. Honest thinking does not come easily.
Lies and cheating are our ethnic traits. Any responsible leader should be vigilant against those who have a one man solution to a complicated problem.
Reckless killing has become a daily feature over a long period of time. It is easy for the police to kill anybody in cross-fire. Death in police custody is acceptable. Disappearances are a harsh reality. The people are losing their lives regularly under the wheels of buses and trucks. Even when our children in the streets of Dhaka crying for the loss of their friends for careless driving, victims of careless driving are losing their lives. Lives of others have no value.
So there are deep rooted mismanagement of the government for lack of competence and greed for easy money. The government remained unconcerned and unmoved for too long despite repeated appeals to right the wrongs.
The truth is the authorities in transport section along with other powerful ones in the government and outside are careless about their responsibility towards the people. To them money making business is the supreme consideration.
There is a strong syndicate for concerted corruption at all levels of the communications sector. Though a well-organised corruption network exists in all other ministries also. The business of running government has become business of corruption.
The government has no accountability to the people. The ministers know they are not people’s ministers elected by the people.
The result is it was not possible for us to have an organised and efficient government of competent people. The Prime Minister is happy with liars and sycophants supporting a government out of touch with the people.
The present crisis of killer buses and trucks on the road is the crisis of leadership — competent and honest. There is no alternative but to have changes in the government to make it the people’s government.
