Ruling party offices on govt lands [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Ruling party offices on govt lands

Local October 29, 2015

Offices of Awami League and BNP, the two major political parties, are seldom seen out side the capital when they are out of power.
But as soon as either of them return to power the activists rush to open offices at every nook and corner of the country, mostly on government lands on the waysides.
The new ruling party also takes control of the defeated party’s offices.
Suddenly one notices that the signboards had been replaced on the countless offices of the party chapters overnight.
It’s not a new phenomenon in the strange political landscape of this country, said political leaders, analysts and the observers of the governance style lacking transparency and probity.
They said that a ruling party in this country never hesitated to cause public inconvenience by opening offices on the sidewalks and other government lands.
Usually, they said, the activists of the ruling party illegally use government land to open make-shift offices across the country.
New Age correspondents reported that hundreds of make shift offices of BNP and its front organizations suddenly disappeared soon after its tenure ended in 2006.
According to the reports hundreds of new offices of AL and its front organizations sprang up across the country immediately after its return to power in 2009.
In the capital alone at least 500 offices of AL and its front organizations on government lands and footpaths make their ubiquitous presence felt to passersby.
After its return to power, activists of AL and its front organizations opened more than one office even in small localities of the capital and elsewhere.
On a small stretch of road in the Tejgaon Industrial Area in the capital four offices have been opened by the activists of the front organizations of ruling AL.
Most of the parties having representation in Parliament maintain central offices in the capital either in rented or own accommodations.
Political parties often use vested properties to run their offices in some of the district towns and divisional cities.
Running party offices on government land or by grabbing public property is in no way desirable, said political analyst and economics teacher Mahbub Ullah.
He told New Age that vibrant political parties should maintain their own offices whatever the size.
The party offices should be centres of debate on political issues by the leaders and activists, he said.
AL presidium member Nuh-Ul-Alam Lenin admitted that a mad rush for opening offices by the activists was noticed after the party’s return to power.
He said that this happened due to increased financial support enjoyed by the ruling party.
But some of the activists opened party offices only to advance personal interests, he said.
Over the last six years, he said, AL built office accommodations at many district towns.
BNP chairperson’s adviser and president of the party’s Tangail district chapter Ahmed Azam Khan said BNP had offices at 71 organizational districts mostly in rented accommodations.
He said despite political repression BNP leaders tried their best to keep the offices open.
In the city of Barisal, AL leaders shifted the party office to the city corporation’s annex building immediately after AL returned to power.
In the same city BNP maintains office at an abandoned house.
When in power, BNP office in the city of Rajshahi was housed at a city corporation building.
On return to power AL evicted BNP from the city corporation building. BNP office in the city is now housed at a rented accommodation at Malopara, city chapter general secretary Shafiqul Huq Milon told New Age.
AL office in the northern city is housed at an abandoned building at Kumarpara crossing.
In the southern port city of Khulna, BNP office is housed at a rundown abandoned building.
In the same city, AL maintains its office at its own accommodation.
In the divisional city Rangpurpur, both AL and BNP maintain permanent offices on government land they took on lease.