Two years in Opposition, Jatiya Party is gripped by identity crisis

It’s only natural that far-reaching questions will be raised about whether the Opposition can effectively challenge the government in Parliament where the ruling party enjoys an absolute majority and when it itself is part of the ruling coterie.

Eyebrows were raised when the Jatiya Party sat in the opposition in the 10th Parliament after the Jan 5, 2014, elections.
 
Party chief HM Ershad had immediately sought to dispel doubts, saying they would not spare the government from facing ‘constructive criticism’ even after several of his leaders became ministers.
 
Raushon Ershad then became the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament after days of drama.
 

HM Ershad with his younger brother GM Quader. File Photo.

“It’s true that we have ministers, but we want to play the opposition’s role properly,” she once said.

Yet, the party is now caught up in a wave of criticism swirling around issue of its dual role.

It finds itself in the middle of a full-blown identity crisis - one that is coming to a head as an ugly power struggle is put in the open now.

"The people don't understand whether we are in the government or in the opposition," Ershad himself said 10 days before the second anniversary of his party’s tenure in Parliament as the opposition on Jan 29.

Chittagong University public administration department Professor Nizam Uddin, a researcher of parliamentary politics, said Jatiya Party needs to clear its position itself.

He thinks Jatiya Party is part of the coalition government led by the Awami League – just like JaSaD and Workers Party are.

“If the Jatiya Party is the opposition, then why aren’t JaSaD and Workers Party?” he asked.

Raushon Ershad. File Photo.

More than half of the 350 MPs had been elected uncontested. After the elections, the Awami League now has a total of 276 seats.

From the Awami League-led 14-Party alliance, Workers Party has seven seats, JaSaD six, and Tarikat Federation two.

Jatiya Party has 40 leaders in Parliament, Jatiya Party-JP two and the BNF one.

Independent candidates, mostly Awami League leaders, won 16 seats.

Jatiya Party and JP, the parties that refrained from joining the alliance led by Awami League, joined the government formed before the elections.

BNF was formed following a ‘conspiracy’ of Awami League, alleges BNP, which boycotted the elections as they were held when the Awami League was still in power.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia recently said this ‘so-called’ Parliament does not discuss the problems of the people.

The former opposition in Parliament faces criticisms by both Awami League and Jatiya Party.

On the other hand, the ruling Awami League is always ‘supportive’ to Jatiya Party. Even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed satisfaction over the party’s work.

She told Parliament three days ago that the current Parliament set an example as the Opposition is also praising the government’s good work along with criticising the bad instances.

After taking charge as the leader of the opposition, Raushon said her party does not believe in protests like boycotting Parliament sessions and creating a mess by flinging folders.

Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) in its recent report on Parliament’s activities lauded Jatiya Party in one sense as it found the 10th Parliament had seen a positive trend in overcoming quorum crisis.

It also thinks that the expected role of the main opposition to ensure the government’s accountability is missing in this Parliament, an opinion many political analysts share.

It claimed BNP was mentioned over 7,000 times even though it was absent in Parliament.

In the past one year, no Jatiya Party MP other than Kazi Firoz Rashid was seen vocal against the government over some issues.

The party walked out twice, protesting the power price hike and the removal of Biman Bangladesh Airlines chairman.

They joined the ruling party leaders while criticising JaSaD for its post-Liberation War activities.

Independent MP former BNP leader Rustum Ali Faraji also faced criticism from both Awami League and Jatiya Party whenever he raised questions over the government’s activities.

Though Ershad has been speaking about change by stepping down as the prime minister’s special envoy and withdrawing Jatiya Party leaders from the government to end the dubiousness, Raushon, after meeting Hasina, says that the party will remain in the government.