BNP-Jamaat
Death of Bibhuranjan Sarkar and a documentary epitaph
Senior journalist and columnist Bibhoranjan Sarkar has left behind a message of grief for honest journalists in Bangladesh, which may be called his self-written epitaph. That epitaph has become a grim document of the miserable state of professional journalism in Bangladesh.
Hillocks will be gobbled up also after stones thru all-party unity
With the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August last year, the looting of stones began and continued relentlessly in mass scale over the past year. Although stories of this looting spread on social and other media, the government and local administration remained in a deep slumber like Kumbhakarna. They only woke up after the looting was over. On 13 August, the joint forces launched an operation to recover the looted white stones and seized 130 stone-laden trucks. According to the Sylhet district commissioner, the confiscated stones will be returned to the areas from where they were looted, and there is also a court order regarding this. Stone is a mineral resource, and therefore its authority lies with the Ministry of Mineral Resources. The power to permit or stop extraction lies with that ministry. However, if stone extraction causes environmental damage, the Ministry of Environment can raise objections.
Truth and falsehood of national election surveys
In the upcoming national election, 12 per cent of people will vote for the BNP. Jamaat will get 10.40 per cent and the National Citizen Party (NCP) will get 2.80 per cent. If the Awami League is able to contest the polls, 7.30 per cent of people will vote for them. Besides, the Jatiya Party will get 0.30 per cent and other Islamic parties 0.70 per cent of the vote. This picture has emerged in a recent survey by the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). It reflects the opinions of 5,489 people from different classes and professions in rural and urban areas.
Stones recovered, but why looting couldn’t be prevented
After the white stones of Bholaganj in Sylhet were looted, there was an uproar across the country. Strong criticism began on social media. Surely, this is not only because the state’s property was looted, but also because the country’s beauty was stolen. Countless tourists have visited Bholaganj to see the white stones. Anyone who goes sightseeing in Sylhet almost certainly visits a couple of places, and the white stones are one of them. Those who have previously visited Bholaganj took photos, uploaded them to social media, and wrote about them—now all of that is just a memory! Perhaps people would not be as hurt if their possessions were looted, but memories stolen cause deeper pain. In today’s Bangladesh, everything is being looted—assets, beauty, and memories!
Did 5 NCP leaders rebel against the party?
On August 5, the anniversary of the July uprising, the visit to Cox’s Bazar by five leaders of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) has sparked debate and mystery, leading some to sense a whiff of division.
Why is embezzled money not being returned
The interim government has published a white paper on the corruption that took place during the Awami League’s tenure. The white paper states that over the past 15 years, $234 billion have been illegally laundered from Bangladesh abroad through 28 different means. Eminent individuals of the country prepared this white paper in a very short time. This valuable white paper is full of speculative information and inconsistencies. These capable experts described the history of corruption in a 400-page white paper within three months; yet, even after six months of publishing the white paper, the government has not managed to detain a single thief. The Awami League government had started catching thieves even without a white paper, and the corruption records of IGP Benazir Ahmed and National Board of Revenue’s Matiur Rahman were widely reported in the media. But have only Benazir and Matiur stolen the entire $234 billion? If not, there must be more thieves.
We must build a beautiful Bangladesh overcoming all crises
It has been nine full months since the student-public uprising, and now calculations are being made regarding the gap between people’s expectations and what has been achieved. This is because the interim government’s failure to control commodity prices and the law-and-order situation has disappointed the general public. However, after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s continuous fifteen and a half years of rule, a desire for change in socio-economic and political aspects had emerged. People from all parties and opinions took to the streets responding to the anti-discrimination student movement; under pressure from this movement, the autocratic regime fell on August 5. Within three days of the student-public uprising, an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus was formed, which also promised change. But in terms of everyday life, two major problems—commodity prices and law and order—have drawn allegations of failure against the interim government, even from the anti-discrimination student movement itself.
Before looking at others, let’s first look in the mirror
If it has taken 54 years for a nation to descend into decay, how can we expect it to be transformed in just one year? If the people of Bangladesh truly wish to become free from corruption, honest, educated, just, and creative, can that really happen within a single year? The truth is—one cannot extinguish the fire of 54 years of corruption in a single year and expect good outcomes.
Create fair democratic environment to encourage investment
The four-day ‘Bangladesh Investment Summit-2025’, which began last Monday (April 7), ended yesterday (April 10). For the first time in the history of Bangladesh, renowned investors from a record 40 countries including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UAE participated in it. In addition, the country’s top business executives and policymakers also attended it. During the official inauguration of the investment summit last Wednesday (April 9), Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus called on investors to invest in Bangladesh and said, ‘Bangladesh is a country that has great ideas to change the world. These ideas need to be transformed into reality. So we invite you to join the journey of changing not only Bangladesh, but the entire world.
Reform commission's proposals must ensure fair election
To ensure free and fair elections, the Reform Commission has recommended reinstating the caretaker government system and the provision for a referendum. The Constitutional Reform Commission has also made similar recommendations. Recently, the possibility of the caretaker government system returning automatically has emerged following a High Court ruling. However, the system cannot be implemented until a review petition on the Appellate Division’s order that annulled the Thirteenth Amendment—through which the caretaker system was introduced—is resolved.