Sorry, Sarjis Alam, you’ve confused the upcoming elections with something that can clearly be described as trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, where "seven maunds of ghee will never match, and Radha will never dance again."
India provides protection to its allies. The first example is the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama. The second example is Bangladesh's former autocrat Sheikh Hasina.
Previously, Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s opposition leader, Adi Salim al-Fayed, had taken refuge in India for some time. South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, also sought refuge in India for his revolutionary activities. During the 1971 Liberation War, India sheltered millions of refugees and political leaders and trained freedom fighters.
You think of bringing Sheikh Hasina back to the country and putting her on trial – this idea is fine. But have you ever considered whether India, which granted her asylum, will return her as per your demands? Let’s assume you get her back, but do you think the trial will be that simple? Will it be as easy as "Hold the board, hammer the nail"? That would turn into a "monkey trial"!
Sarjis Alam, the chief organizer (North Zone) of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has said that no one should talk about elections until former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is brought back to the country and sentenced to death.
He made this statement this morning after visiting the graves of martyrs at Rayerbazar in Dhaka, who had died during the student uprising.
"How can we think of anything else in this country when mothers are wailing for their sons, when the murderers who ordered the deaths of our brothers are not yet brought to justice?" he said.
"First, the murderer Hasina must be tried, first, the killings must be judged, then we can think of anything else. We have told this government many times. They took power standing on blood. If they can't bring the murderer Hasina to visible justice, they will lose their legitimacy," Sarjess said.
He further added, "This interim government must carry out justice. Before the elections, the murderer Hasina must be brought back to Bangladesh and sentenced to death. Until we see her on the gallows, no one should even think about the elections in Bangladesh."
Sheikh Hasina has always been terrified of elections. This is why she has sometimes held uncontested elections, sometimes at night, and ultimately organized dummy voting. To avoid losing, the opposition is often kept out of the elections by any means. You were also once involved in the politics of Awami League’s affiliated organizations. Now, whether you gain anything or not, you’ve been overcome by election phobia just like Sheikh Hasina -this is becoming evident.
All these childish arguments you make are merely unfortunate excuses to delay the elections. If you were making these statements while Sheikh Hasina was in the country's prison, it might have been fitting. But now, you are clearly putting oil on your mustache while still holding jackfruit on the tree.
In practice, there is no connection between Sheikh Hasina's trial and the elections. Let’s assume you can't complete Hasina's trial in five years – does that mean an unelected government should rule the country for the next five years? Such claims are entirely absurd.
We will say, if you want to do politics for the people, step away from the path shown by Sheikh Hasina. Learn to read the minds of the common people like us. If the leaders of the Citizen Party rise to power through direct votes from citizens like us, we will welcome them with honor. But if you attempt to cling to power by using lame excuses, we will strongly criticize and condemn it.
Our one and only demand is that, in the name of politics, you become true servants of the people. Never become an authoritarian dictator. Just as you found the way to freedom through people's movements, if you try to trap people into your power, they too will seek a way to liberate themselves from you. That day will be even more horrific and tragic than the July of '24.
So, for any reason, we don’t want the new party, the National Citizen's Party, to become election-phobic at the very start of its journey.
Author: Journalist
March 4, 2025