It is important to bring the qualified in front in times of crisis

Load shedding has been announced across the country after a long era. 1 hour in Dhaka. 2 hours outside Dhaka, somewhere even 3-4 hours. In Dhaka too, there have been complaints that the area-based schedule of load shedding is not being followed. Somewhere there is load shedding for 2-3 hours. People cannot accept load shedding in a country that was under 100% electricity for quite a long time. The appearance of the crisis in the economy is no longer a secret. Bangladesh is facing the highest inflation in nine years. A country's inflation rate exceeding 7 percent is a bad news. It makes life miserable for people with limited income. On July 19, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics released the updated inflation data. It shows that the inflation rate in the country is 7.56 percent. There is no good news in foreign exchange reserves either. After two years, the reserves have fallen below $40 billion. If expatriate income does not increase and import spending is not reined in, the crisis will only get worse. The Prime Minister herself has acknowledged the crisis. He said, "The Russia-Ukraine war has caused suffering for the common people." That's why Sheikh Hasina requested everyone to be frugal.

Just as unwanted and unexpected crises come in the life of individuals, so too a state can be in crisis. Oftentimes the person has no responsibility for the crisis in their life, they are suddenly faced with a harsh reality without any input of their own. In 2020-21 we have seen many such incidents around us. Many lost their jobs and fell into indescribable misery. In the current crisis in Bangladesh the role of the government is very little. This crisis is not created by the government or the people. Bangladesh is a victim of global situation. The world is now in turmoil due to the US and Western sanctions against Russia. Because of which Bangladesh is faced with such brutal reality. In such a situation, it is the government's responsibility to take the people's side. To assure Respect for citizens, express sympathy. To empathize with their suffering. It is important to present the reality openly to the people. The current government has been in charge of running the country for more than 13 years. Leaders and workers of the party in power for a long time, members of parliament, ministers - all need to be modest, humble and restrained in this situation. So that the people can feel that the government is with them on this and they are trying.

It is not possible for any government to deal with such a situation alone. In this global unrest I have observed one positive thing in the government. The government has not been shy about acknowledging the reality. Rather, they have taken some practical steps from the beginning. They have not kept the people in dark. Rather, the real situation has been highlighted to the people. But nobody seemed sincere except Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in being restrained and modest in the crisis. Rather, in some cases, the responsible persons are interested in spreading fear among the citizens by threatening them. Some people are creating irrelevant controversy. What’s the point of talking about when to turn on and turn off the AC in the mosque? People are already in discomfort at this time. Is it really that necessary to talk about these things? The instruction to close the shops by 8 pm has been given before Eid. No one disagreed with this. Even in many developed countries of the world, shops are not kept open after noon. It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies and the concerned authorities to see if anyone keeps the shops open after 8 pm. Why does the Minister of State for Electricity need to shout about this? Was that really necessary? Amid the power crisis, the state minister is threatening to disconnect power. Why? Now is not the time to intimidate people. Nor can it be the culture of a democratic government. However, some people of Awami League who have been in power for a long time have now become boxers or wrestlers. When the people are depressed due to economic and power crisis, some MPs become busy showing off their expertise in wrestling. They beat each other in discussion. Someone is beating the principal; someone is beating another elected public representative! They are disoriented by the influence of power. In this situation of the country, they should stand by the people as public representatives. Reassure the people. But they are doing the exact opposite. As a result, the reputation of the Awami League and the government is getting ruined. It is not just a few parliamentarians who are behaving irresponsibly. Except for a handful of ministers, most of the cabinet members have already proved themselves incompetent. They have no role to play in this crisis. Some are avoiding to take responsibilities. Apart from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, how many trusted people are there in this cabinet? These ministers pour praise on Prime Minister sheikh Hasina. But how many obey the Prime Minister? How many respect ordinary people like Sheikh Hasina? On the contrary, some people are making the people angry with their words and actions. The political image of this government is pale except for the prime minister. It is very important to bring forward the political structure of the government in this difficult time. It is very important to bring qualified people in charge. Awami League is the people's party. People are the life force of the party. There are many people in this party with whom the people still have deep spiritual ties. Awami League leaders and workers at different levels have stood by the people during Corona. Many on their own initiative have delivered food to people in need. Awami League, Chhatra League, Jubo League leaders and activists have cut the paddy to help the farmers. In this flood, Awami League leaders and activists have stood by the flood victims with utmost compassion. This Awami League is very different from Lathial MP or ministers who talk incoherently. Compare the members of the cabinet and the Awami League leaders who are outside the cabinet, excluding Sheikh Hasina. What a huge difference. Are there any leaders in the government like Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Begum Matia Chowdhury? Ok, let’s not talk about these senior national leaders. How many leaders like Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Bahauddin Nashim or Mirza Azam who are always connected with the people in the field are in the current cabinet? Most of the members of this cabinet cannot read people's mind. As can Sheikh Hasina. A large part of this cabinet cannot speak the language of the people as their own. As the Prime Minister can. Sheikh Hasina formed the government for the second time in 2009. At that time, she did not include many heavyweight leaders in the cabinet for logical reasons. Despite that, there were nationally known political figures like Begum Matia Chowdhury, late Syed Ashraful Islam, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Abul Mal Abdul Muhith in that cabinet. Burned-out politicians like Nurul Islam Nahid or Jahangir Kabir Nanak gave that cabinet a political face. Awami League came to power for the second consecutive time in 2014. This time the prime minister brought back the heavies in the cabinet. Not only from Awami League, but also from 14 parties, prominent political personalities like Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haque Inu got a place in the cabinet. By winning the 2018 election, the Awami League president brought a surprise to the cabinet. Tajul Islam got an important ministry like local government as a minister for the first time.  Dr. Abdul Momen got the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after becoming the member of the parliament for the first time. It must be admitted that Sheikh Hasina wanted to give opportunities to newcomers. Perhaps she also wanted to separate the government and the party. But many did not consider ministry as a valuable opportunity to serve the nation. Some have considered it as 'Aladdin's lamp'. Many have thought it was a job of comfort. They did not understand the meaning of the opportunity given by the party chief. Some of them are so unintelligent that they don't even realize their incompetence. People get confused whether to laugh or cry, when a minister claims to be successful after endless incompetence and failure in dealing with Corona. Even when the minister talks about his helplessness over commodity prices, he still values his chair more than the party, the country and the leader. When the Malaysian labor market is trapped in syndicates, why doesn't the minister feel the need to resign? There are many such example. These incompetent ministers have now become a burden to the government, they have shown their incompetence to the maximum. Luckily, Sheikh Hasina was there. Who watches over everything. Basically Sheikh Hasina has handled everything alone for the last three and a half years. She dealt with the situation herself without removing the minister who failed in Corona. She also had to take the initiative to control the market. From the rescuing the playground to the Padma Bridge, Bangladesh is in its current position because of Sheikh Hasina's continuous monitoring.

We know that Sheikh Hasina is a visionary, prudent, courageous and philosophical statesman. But she needs comrades, loyal followers. Just as a Messi or Neymar cannot always win the game alone, this also applies to running the government. Some dedicated colleagues, comrades are needed. Those who will work to implement Sheikh Hasina's thoughts. Those who will understand her political thought, philosophy. When the ministers could not keep pace with the prime minister, the bureaucrats began to fill the void. The head of government has to rely on the bureaucrats due to the Covid situation. At that time, she had no other options to deal with the situation. But bureaucrats do nothing but their own interests. All their work has a price. In return for the work they have done during the Corona period, they have taken over almost all the state institutions. From the Election Commission to the Human Rights Commission, from the Anti-Corruption Commission to the Information Commission - all state institutions are now in the hands of the bureaucracy. It was the Awami League that set the precedent of appointing creative economists and scholars to the post of Bangladesh Bank governor. After 21 years in 1996, Sheikh Hasina appointed a creative banker like Lutfar Rahman Sarkar as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank with the responsibility of managing the country. After the end of his tenure a wise personality like Dr. Farasuddin was made the Governor. Dr. Farasuddin was a bureaucrat, but he is better known as a traditional economist than as a former bureaucrat. In 2009, Sheikh Hasina appointed an exceptional scholar like Dr. Atiur Rahman, the 'economist of the poor', as governor of Bangladesh Bank. This institution is now in the hands of the bureaucrats. More specifically, Bangladesh Bank is now the post-retirement address of Finance Secretaries. But in the current situation, more than a newly retired bureaucrat, there is a need for economists with brilliant innovative thinking like Dr. Atiur Rahman, Dr. Abul Barkat. The newly appointed governor is undoubtedly an efficient administrative officer. But while staying in the document for a long time, he may also look for the solution of the current crisis in the document. Bureaucrats do not or cannot solve any problem in the long term. They ignore creativity and want to work on a routine. A powerful bureaucrat advanced his career by inventing a 'quick rental' solution to the power crisis. Now that quick rental is a thorn in the neck for the government.

This is how bureaucrats do not think about the future. They want to prove themselves 'efficient' by solving the problem immediately. Just as the government has to break the shackles of bureaucracy to deal with the current situation, it is also important to bring the government back to the political stream. The question may arise; will the crisis be solved by making senior heavyweights or popular leaders as ministers? The crisis was not created in the country. How will changing the minister bring solution? The most necessary thing to do now is give courage to the people. Eliminate their uncertainty. After successive recommendations by the bureaucracy 'no reason to panic' statement will not bring relief to the people. Sheikh Hasina's message must be conveyed to the people. There are many such qualified leaders in Awami League. They have flaws, there are also past slips. But in this crisis they will be the worthy partners. People will trust this. The nation will be unburdened by the unworthy. About a year ago, Corona, economic crisis, peasant revolt has downward the popularity of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, on July 9, 2021, he reshuffled the cabinet by sacking 12 ministers. It is a widely used democratic strategy. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also done this in different terms. Even before the 2014 elections, she inducted heavyweight leaders in the election cabinet. She did not hesitate to change the office of a tried leader like Syed Ashraf during difficult times. The Prime Minister was praised for removing Colonel (Retd) Farooq Khan from the Ministry of Commerce. There are many such examples in Sheikh Hasina's 18 years of running the country. This crisis is a global reality. Now the Awami League have to stand next to the victims with compassion and love, as they stand by the people in all crises. It is now time's demand to bring forward the qualified people in this crisis.