A village blockaded for voting for the opposition!

EDITORIAL

Another case of political vendetta

First a woman was raped in Noakhali for voting for BNP and now an entire village has been put under siege for the very same reason. That the village of Kolma in Rajshahi was cut off from the rest of the area around it—with nobody allowed to leave or enter, even vehicular traffic through the village barred from movement, and basic services, reportedly, disrupted for six days after the election—is reprehensible. It reflects, unfortunately, the regression of political culture in the country. The threshold of political tolerance has sagged dismally low, trickling down from the top to the grassroots also. Going against the ruling party has become a crime. This is totally contrary to the spirit expressed by the president of the victorious party, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

In the past we had seen minorities hounded from their hearth and homes for voting for candidates of their choice. Regrettably, the ugly ethos has continued, only because the state and more importantly, the political parties, have failed to deal with the errant members firmly. When there is absence of strict measures against such behaviour from the party leadership, it not only encourages repetition of such behaviour, but also makes the party hierarchy no less responsible for the act.

We fail to understand why the administration had not been able to restore normalcy in the area immediately. Compromise is well and good, but harsher action should have been taken against those who had taken law in their own hands and enforced the blockade so that the locals could go about their business normally. This amounts to challenging the administration and thereby the government.

This is a very dangerous trend that bodes badly for governance. Above all, the law of the land must be upheld and any challenge to our legal framework must be dealt with harshly.  

• Courtesy: The Daily Star/ Jan 07, 2018