See you, ladies

In its clean-up drive, have Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina been told to quit Bangladesh by the caretaker regime backed by the army?

Pranay Sharma Delhi

It may not happen. But people in Bangladesh have already started thinking the unthinkable: a political scenario minus Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. As leaders of their respective parties, the Bangladesh National Party and the Awami League, the two have dominated Bangladesh's political scene for nearly 25 years. But now many in Bangladesh have started blaming the two ladies for all that is wrong with the country.

Dhaka political circles are rife with rumours that a proposal asking Begum Zia and Sheikh Hasina to leave the country has already been made by the caretaker government in Bangladesh. The two have been asked to leave Bangladesh for a country of their choice — it could be the US or the UK or some other country. They have been asked to make up their mind at the earliest. In the intervening period, they have been advised to restrain their supporters from taking to the streets to protest the "clean-up drive" launched by the caretaker administration.

In the sub-continent's political history, the reported proposal is not a unique one. In September 1999, after Pervez Musharraf came to power in Pakistan through a bloodless military coup, a similar option was given to the ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. He decided to leave for Saudi Arabia. His predecessor, Benazir Bhutto, had also decided to leave the country before that and has for the past many years been shuttling between her two homes in Dubai and London.

The caretaker government's proposal to Zia and Hasina, reportedly has the "full-backing" of the army. In fact, the chief advisor in the caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, is said to be taking all his decisions with the approval of the army generals. The Bangladesh army has decided not to come to the fore but supervise the clean-up drive of the caretaker government by remaining in the shadows.

It is not the armed forces only that have been supportive of the government's decision. The civil society and large number of opinion-makers seemed happy with what the government is doing. Most of them believe that both Zia and Hasina are to be equally blamed for the ills in the Bangladeshi society today. Both have been responsible for weakening democratic institutions and perpetuating cronyism during their respective tenures in power in Dhaka.

Though India and other international players are demanding an early return to democracy, no time-frame has been sought for holding elections in Bangladesh. The general belief is that the caretaker government will not quit in a hurry as long as both Zia and Hasina are waiting to come back to the political centre-stage.

If the two leaders vacate the political space by leaving the country, it allows individuals like Grameen Bank founder Mohammed Yunus to head a government that will not only be credible within the international community, but will also get the support of large sections of the people of Bangladesh. The Nobel laureate, who has found global recognition for effectively dealing with rural poverty and empowering women in Bangladesh through his Grameen Bank, has recently floated a political party.

It is interesting that Yunus decided to float his party soon after his visit to India. Within days, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee decided to travel to Dhaka to engage with the caretaker government. Though his visit was ostensibly to invite the Bangladesh government for the Saarc Summit to be held in New Delhi in April, 2007, it gave Mukherjee the chance to interact with the current dispensation and make a clear assessment of the political situation in Bangladesh.