In Bangladesh, various conspiracies get implemented before the parliamentary election. Centerig the twelfth parliamentary election, numerous conspiracies are afoot in the country's politics on both the national and international levels. These plots are a continuation of those that occurred around the previous elections. Various organisations are currently carrying out different strategies to sway the election. On the one hand, they disseminated propaganda intending to smear the country's government.
On the other hand, they attempt to influence people's opinions by spreading various forms of misleading information to rile up the political arena. In addition to the political parties, members of civil society, certain members of the bureaucracy, and various other catalysts are currently engaged in formulating various strategies to exert influence over the elections. This is currently being discussed as an "open secret" among the general public. While the government is keeping a close eye on the situation, those responsible for the incident are likely plotting in the background how they may both put the current government in peril and win the next election.
Recently, the forced retirement of a secretary and three police officers has become the subject of widespread discussion across the country. As the matter is being discussed in various media and social media, it is also being discussed at various levels at the tea table. A group of people who are sympathetic to these officers are giving various statements. Indeed, it is not considered humanely acceptable if an officer is retired before the completion of his service. However, there could be arguments about this.
It is also true that when the government promotes someone to secretary-level, he/she gets promoted after much calculation. Again, when the decision is taken to send that official to compulsory retirement, that too has to be done under compulsion by the government. Various reasons for this incident have been discussed in the newspapers. However, it is tough for the general public to know what happened behind the scenes. Although under the government service rules, the government can send government officials into retirement after completing 25 years, I believe there were some issues behind this incident which forced the government to take such a decision. A similar incident might have happened to those police officers.
In any democratic system of governance, the function of the bureaucracy is to assist the government in formulating and implementing policies. In many cases, in the reality of Bangladesh, the bureaucracy tries to influence the policy process by going beyond the theoretical limit of its power. However, the extent to which they can exert influence is heavily dependent on the ability of the politicians. There is no denying that bureaucracy is an essential institution of a state as it implements all government policies and provides the information and technical assistance to the policy makers required for policy-making.
Judging from that aspect, bureaucracy has been recognised as a crucial element in the administration of the state since its origin. However, one group has consistently criticised the functioning of the bureaucracy in the country. In many cases, the overzealous actions of some officials in the bureaucracy fueled that criticism.
The overly enthusiastic activities of some officials from the field level to the central level have made news headlines in the country. But it is also true that the success of the government depends on the efficiency of the bureaucracy because the bureaucrats are responsible for implementing the policies that the government formulates. As a result, their ability to implement policies affects the government's success.
The politicisation of bureaucracy is not a new issue in the state system of Bangladesh. Whenever they came to power, all the political parties appointed a group of bureaucrats in various vital positions, considering them loyal. From a theoretical point of view, this issue can be seen in different countries. Recruitment of bureaucrats is done mainly through the merit and spoil system. Looking at the United States, we will see that many people chosen by the party and the President are appointed to various important positions after the presidential election. The point is that the President appoints people he/she can trust to important administrative positions. This is done to help implement the President's goals. Therefore, judging from this point of view, I do not think there is any issue in appointing preferred people to important administrative positions. Putting the government in jeopardy from positions of power would go against everything bureaucracy stands for.
As bureaucracy has become one of the most critical elements of governance worldwide, conspiracists are trying to subvert this bureaucracy in various ways. Or a group is trying to use some people in the government to steal various government information and put the government in danger in Bangladesh. We saw the staging of the "Uttara Conspiracy" before the 2014 elections. Several retired and serving officers then met in a meeting to plan how to conspire against the government. Since there will be many plots before the elections, the government should move forward, keeping this in mind.
From this perspective, it can be safely said that these four officials may have been sent to retirement because the government might have had important information about their engagement in anti-state activities. Other reports in the press indicate that another group of bureaucrats is in touch with some opposition through whom important government information is being smuggled out. Newspapers have reported that action may be taken against them. Therefore, the following year is crucial for the Bangladesh government and the Awami League because the next election will determine which party will be in power for the next five years.
All political parties will try to win the elections by putting the government in danger through various conspiracies. This is a very regular practice. However, the plan to tarnish the government's image by spreading various types of information based on falsehoods is not acceptable from the point of view of ethics. Considering the political climate of the last few months, it is inevitable that the opposition parties are using different tactics to try to win over the people in preparation for the upcoming elections.
There is no reason to think that the opposition parties are weak because they have a domestic and international circle. As a result, they have to be dealt with politically. Moreover, the government must ascertain whether a group within the government conspires with them to endanger them. Conspiracy has been an important issue in Bangladeshi politics since time immemorial. Just as some of his dearest people were involved in Bangabandhu's murder, in the same way, some Awami League leaders opposed Sheikh Hasina during 1/11.
As a result of the party's being in power for a long time, leaders and activists of other parties have infiltrated the ruling party. These intruders are trying to achieve their interests under the umbrella of the Awami League. Hence, the time has come to identify the real Awami Leaguers and trust them.
I believe the Hon'ble Prime Minister is seriously considering these issues. If all the conspiracies are defeated and the next election is won, the continuity of development will be preserved. So, it is time to face the conspiracies with our eyes and ears open.
The writer is a Professor of Public Administration at the
University of Rajshahi.
