My obsession with children’s books has often been described as ‘unhealthy attachment’ for a man of my age. One such book is “Arthur and the Minimoys” written by the French film director and producer Luc Besson where the antagonist emperor of Necropolis Maltazard kisses a beastly venomous creature to gain power.
Maltazard in his youth was a handsome and ambitious Minimoy knight. He inspired such trust and confidence that the good-hearted Minimoy king loved him like a son and designated him to great duties.
But, Maltazard’s soul was corrupted by ambition. He wanted recognition more than he deserved and sought comfort in pubs, telling his story to anyone who would listen, each day sinking a bit further into anger and depression until he began keeping company with the poisonous insects.
This could have been a character that would perfectly describe the leader of the newly formed electoral alliance, Kamal Hossain. We all know how kind father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was to him.
But since Kamal Hossain is the self-proclaimed flag bearer of rule of law and conscience of the nation, I thought why not attribute some glory to him?
We all are familiar with the legend of Count Dracula. As his kingdom was on the verge of slavery by the Ottoman Empire, the young prince of Transylvania Vlad whose troops were greatly outnumbered must submit to a great evil and become a monster in order to obtain the power necessary to save his nation.
Isn’t that an image Kamal Hossain is trying to propagate?
But there is another side of the story. Vlad could only have this great power for three days if he could resist the urge to drink human blood.
Have Kamal Hossain & Associates given in to that urge already?
The most staggering part of this alliance formation is that it is happening in an hour when after 14 years of waiting the families of the victims of August 21st Grenade attack was finally served justice.
No reason could have been strong enough for lawyers like Kamal Hossain, or Mainul Hosein whose fame were achieved in the world of law and justice, to distance themselves from a party that is accused of carrying out a despicable terrorist act by a sovereign court.
But, instead, the key players of the alliance are in a strongly denial mode, as if they’re baffled as to why does this verdict is even an issue? “A boy, and innocent” that’s how the mastermind of the August 21st August terrorist attack was described by one of the masterminds of the alliance Zafrullah Chowdhury- so obsessed by this theme that he, apparently, went on to bear the burden of falsely accusing the army chief to make a point.
Meanwhile, the other stakeholders are surprised “how the ruling of the court reflected the expectation of the Awami League.”
Indeed, the Prime Minister has said fittingly, “Kamal Hossain speaks loudly against corruption, terrorism and militancy. But he has aligned himself with two recognized militant and terror organizations.”
Anyone who has a little knowledge about Bangladeshi politics would know, neither Kamal Hossain has accomplished anything politically nor he can be trusted.
Then, what’s in it for BNP? Why would they need someone like Kamal Hossain who cannot bag even ten votes necessary to win an election?
The simple answer is BNP understands that it desperately needs a re-branding not just because of the grenade attack also for the arson attacks that killed over 100 people.
After being unequivocally accused of terrorism and involvement with brutal communal forces such as Jamat-e-Islami this is exactly what BNP would have needed — a master salesman in the table, who has a certain degree of acceptance in the international level — to seek legitimacy from the stakeholders of the international community.
The notion of public relations is at the very core of this political alliance. It has nothing to do with people, good governance, or democracy. It, in fact, is opportunism and bureaucracy in its highest form.
Getting a foothold in power, apparently, is the highest calling here, prioritized over the blood of the victims of the terrorist attacks.
And after the recently leaked phone conversation between Mahi B Chowhdury and Mahmudur Rahman Manna we now know precisely that in the name of unity, an anti-state conspiracy is going on.
The writer is a blogger and political commentator.