Afsan Chowdhury, Researcher, Political Analyst : The government says it is in favour of holding talks, BNP gives conditions for holding a dialogue. I think this is purely a matter of bigwigs; small fries like us have nothing to be concerned here. A dialogue will be held when they will make up their mind for it.
Is there any reason to hold talks? Why should I sit for a dialogue if I am not forced? I will go for the option, which will suit my purpose. I will sit for dialogue to my advantage. I am not willing to hold talks if I can do without it.
From my point of view, the role of common people in politics is very weak. Politics was always confined to major political parties and the scenario has not changed at all.
Conflicting models are still in force in the country’s politics. Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal’s mayoral candidate Dr Manisha Chakraborty came under attack during the elections of Barisal City Corporation. This is an example of conflicting model for grabbing state power. Such incidents encourage the other conflicting forces in the society to lock horns. Therefore, it will not be possible to bring discipline on the roads. If anyone goes too far, he or she will be given a good beating. The same happened to the quota reforms movement. This is the current model of our politics. We will welcome it if a new model of dialogue emerges here instead. But the new model seems elusive.
Based on an interview by Ashiq Rahman, translated by Hossen Sohel