April 3, 2025 9:18 pm
Full News

Is ‘minus two’ becoming a reality in Bangladesh?

Shamima Chowdhury

During the military-backed non-political Caretaker government of Bangladesh in 2007-08, the caretaker government of Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed promoted the concept of “Minus 2” formula to de-politicalize Bangladesh. They wanted to push both Sheikh Hasina, the Leader of the Awami League (AL) party and also her main rival, Begum Khaleda Zia, the leader of BNP party out of the country and out of politics. These leaders have been ruling Bangladesh for a total of 41 years due to their family legacy.

Sheikh Hasina’s father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the founder of Bangladesh. He was a chrismatic leader who suffered immensely to liberate the country. Begum Khaleda Zia is the widower of military dictator General Ziaur Rahman who ruled the country as a strong man after the murder of Sheikh Mujib and 16 members of his family including his 10-year old son.

Gen. Zia created his political party, the BNP party. The Awami League and the BNP are largest political parties in Bangladesh.

While Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur was the founder of Bangladesh, his able daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the builder of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh became one of the most promising and fastest growing economies in the world under her leadership. As the economy expanded rapidly from a $90 billion to $478 billion GDP, and achieved “developing country status from a ‘least developed’ or a LDC, both income inequality and corruption increased leading to students uprising that forced her to resign and leave the country. Now she is staying in India. After the murder of her father in 1975 coup, she took shelter in India also and lived there for six years from 1975 to 1981.

She escaped death in 1975 as she was abroad during the coup. Her father couldn’t escape death in August, 1975 but Sheikh Hasina could escape death in August, 2024. She is a survivor.

Bangladesh army chief Gen. Waqurzzaman is being blamed by both the Jamati jehadis and anti-discrimination students leaders as he sent her to India by its own military aircraft. Reportedly they planned to kill her. As against this, the AL party enthusiasts blame the Army Chief as he instead of protecting the elected constitutional head of the government forced her to leave the country.

In the 53 years of Bangladesh, the AL and the BNP leadership ruled the country for nearly 41 years. While AL is led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s daughter, the BNP is led by the widower of Gen. Zia. In any election, people, rank and file, vote for them. Therefore, many Civil Society and NGO leaders plus retired officials and technocrats and media people who are deprived of leadership as they have no mass support desire an end to such politics. So they formulated “minus 2” formula. Both Hasina and Khaleda must be kicked out of the country. They failed in 2007-08 but this time, under a different context, they appeared to be successful. Hasina was kicked out on 5 August and Khaleda today on 7 January. Question is will they be allowed to return home.

Dr. Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the current Interim Government floated a political party in 2006 when he received the Nobel Prize but his party did not get people’s support and so it died. During 2007-08 caretaker government, Dr. Yunus and 3 other advisors who pursued ‘minus 2’ formula were attorney Arif Hasan, NGO leader Dr. Zillur Rahman and editor Barrister Moynul Hossain. They were all Advisers in ‘caretaker’ nonpolitical governments. Both Moynul and Arif passed away. So Yunus’s hand is weakened. Question is will he be successful to depoliticize Bangladesh?

Besides Bangladesh, politics in many countries in Asia has family legacies. For example, Gandhi family in India, Bhutto in Pakistan, Sokerno in Indonesia, Marcos in the Philippines, Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka, etc. Even in Japan and USA, example of father and son getting elected was not ruled out. Abe in Japan, Adams and Bush in USA are examples. Kennedy family in USA politics was a household name.

Although all legal cases and verdicts against Khaleda have been withdrawn, however, if the government doesn’t like her to return, those may be reactivated and reintroduced barring her return. Therefore, there is some worry amongst the BNP leadership. More so, as her son, Acting Chairman of the party, Tariq Zia is insecure of returning home because of Jamati extremists and jehadis. In addition, Dr. Yunus government is said to favor the Jamati Islam party over others and they need time to organize. Moreover, a few of his advisers belong to Jamat, a radical religious group.

In Bangladesh, the legal system is so manipulative and poor that whoever comes to power, he or she withdraw all cases even verdicts against them. Dr. Yunus is no exception. He also managed to withdraw all verdicts and cases against him. This is his greatest achievement within the last five months. His administration so far failed to improve law and order, failed to improve economic activity, failed to improve judicial system, and also failed to reduce inflation and extortion. No wonder GDP growth rate which was predicted at 7.2% by the AL government recorded only 1.8% for the last quarter and unemployment increased to 26.4 million, one of the highest, nearly 15,000 factories closed down, and poverty instead of reducing jumped by another 10 millions. FDI and even domestic investment declined and nation’s currency rate also depreciated. No wonder, the international agencies degraded the country’s credit rating.

Dr. Yunus in a recent interview confessed that he has no experience to run a government. Neither his advisers are competent enough to run it smoothly. He further added, students asked him to take the responsibility and if he cannot, he would leave and do what he had been doing. Question is, is he contemplating to step down before the economy collapses?

In fact, he is good in promoting visions and ideas. He is a good philosopher. But his ‘social business’ did not work, neither his ‘3-zeros’, and those poor ladies that borrowed micro credit from his Gramern Bank, as per studies, have become more worse off. When he received the Nobel Peace Prize award in 2006, he said, ‘poverty in future would be available only in the museums’. Unfortunately, instead of reducing, the poverty has increased to nearly 1.1 billion now.

Disclaimer:
Opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not reflect The Voice’s views. The Voice upholds free expression but isn’t responsible for content in this section.

Related News
28 Dead in Fierce Clashes Between Pakistani Forces and Militants Near Afghan Border
François Bayrou Appointed as France’s New Prime Minister
Trump Revokes Legal Status of Over 500,000 Immigrants
ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants for Taliban Leaders Over Gender Persecution
How Indian Citizens Are Getting Involved In Russia-Ukraine War, Losing Their Lives
Gunman Arrested After Attempted Shooting of Sikh Leader at India’s Golden Temple
Related Posts
Elon Musk to Step Down from Government Role
Elon Musk’s Cost-Cutting Team Sends Error-Ridden Termination Notices to USAID Staff
Finland’s President Urges France or Britain to Engage with Russia on Ukraine
Controversial Waqf Bill Passed in India’s Lok Sabha
Israeli Forces Used Palestinians as ‘Human Shields’
World Leaders React to Trump’s Tariff Imposition
More News

Confusion Over Invitation: BNP Expresses Regret

The BNP has found itself in a humorous situation regarding the invitation of three of its leaders to the United States’ National Prayer Breakfast. To address the confusion, the party has expressed regret. On Sunday (January 12) night, the party’s media cell issued a statement on the matter. In a statement by BNP Media Cell […]

Elon Musk Mocks ‘SNL’ Over Trump Hat, Criticizes Show’s Decline

Elon Musk has reacted to Dana Carvey’s impression of him on Saturday Night Live, calling it unimpressive. “Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter), sharing his thoughts on Carvey’s portrayal of him during the cold open of the latest episode. Carvey, dressed in Musk’s signature “dark MAGA” hat and […]

Orlando Bloom Reflects on Keira Knightley’s ‘Pirates’ Struggles

Orlando Bloom recently spoke out in support of his Pirates of the Caribbean co-star Keira Knightley, following her comments about the mixed impact the franchise had on her career. Knightley, who starred as Elizabeth Swann alongside Bloom’s Will Turner in the hit series, opened up last November about the public shaming she faced due to […]

South Africa’s EFF Seeks to Revive Impeachment Proceedings Against Ramaphosa

Johannesburg — South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party brought a case to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday in an effort to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the “Farmgate” scandal. The controversy stems from allegations that millions of dollars were stolen from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm, where the money was reportedly […]

Netflix Loses Margot Robbie’s Movie to Warner Bros. Despite $150M Bid

In a surprising move, Margot Robbie has chosen Warner Bros. over Netflix for the highly anticipated Wuthering Heights adaptation, despite the streaming giant offering a staggering $150 million for the project. The film, directed by Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell, will star Robbie alongside Jacob Elordi, and has generated significant buzz even before cameras start […]

US Launches Nationwide Operation Against Illegal Immigrants, 538 Arrested

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said that all the arrested illegal immigrants are criminals.A massive crackdown on illegal immigrants began just three days after the inauguration of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States. A total of 538 people were arrested in the operation.White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt shared this information in a […]

How dangerous are the Afghan returnee militants ?

Nomad Dragonfly Bangladesh has been talking about Islamist militancy and extremism or an armed struggle to establish a Shariah-based state since early 1999. Members of the Bangladesh branch of the Pakistani militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al-Islami or HuJI attacked poet Shamsur Rahman with an intention of killing him on January 18 in that year. After […]

‘Emilia Pérez’ Sweeps Lumiere Awards with Five Wins, Including Best Film

Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez triumphed at France’s 30th Lumiere Awards, sweeping the ceremony with five major wins. The crime musical, set in Mexico and filmed in Spanish, took home the top prizes, including Best Film, Best Director for Audiard, Best Script, Best Actress for Karla Sofía Gascón, and Best Music for Camille and Clément Ducol. […]

Saudi Arabia Shifts Focus to Modest U.S. Military Pact Amid Stalemate on Israel Normalisation

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has stepped back from pursuing a sweeping defence treaty with the United States in exchange for normalising relations with Israel. Instead, the kingdom is negotiating a scaled-down military cooperation agreement, according to Saudi and Western officials. Earlier this year, Riyadh signalled flexibility on Palestinian statehood, suggesting it could accept an Israeli […]

Bangladesh Seeks Urgent Rice Aid from India Amidst Rising Anti-Indian Sentiments

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Amidst growing anti-Indian sentiments, Bangladesh has urgently requested India to send 50,000 tonnes of rice at a discounted price as the country’s cereal stock reaches critically low levels. A ship carrying approximately 25,000 tonnes of Indian rice arrived in Bangladesh today, with the rest of the consignment expected to reach by the […]