Games the Awami League plays

A new parlance, "khela," has been added to the political dictionary by Bangladesh’s ruling party and is being regularly used as political jargon.

- SHAHEDUL ANAM KHAN

 The English equivalent of the word would be "sports," but because of how the word is being expressed by the Awami League, the word "game" perhaps expresses more volubly the true meaning of the word "khela." And the word conjures up in one's mind something creepy, something unscrupulous and unfair. And if one were to adduce some sinister intent in that word, would one be wrong?

We do not know what exactly the Awami League general secretary means when he warns the BNP and advises his cadres to gird for khela on December 10. People are perplexed and even worried that the khela of December 10 may be portentous of bad things. The Awami League threatens the BNP with dire consequences if it crosses the line on December 10, while the BNP accuses the ruling party of provocation and instigation.

We may have seen a preview of that on Wednesday (December 7). A clash broke out between BNP members and the police in Dhaka's Naya Paltan area, in which at least one person was killed and 30 more injured in the clash, and the party claimed that at least 200 of its members including top leaders Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie and Amanullah Aman were arrested.

The issue of the site of the December 10 meeting has not been fixed, and the BNP sees a "game" here too that the government wants to play.