The opposition demand or rather people's demand to place the Defence portfolio under the CTG is a vital issue to be talked about and settled before this government handed over power to a non-party caretaker government. Should she opt to do so, she has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Without any shadow of doubt, the outgoing Prime Minister would be judged not by the words she has spoken but by the effectiveness of her actions.

The report published in The Daily Star on March 16 last outlining the opinion of previous CTG Chiefs and some Advisers dwelt threadbare the enormous difficulties the previous caretaker governments had faced both in 1996 and 2001 in conducting the election in a free and fair manner. Talking to The Daily Star a number of former advisers in the caretaker government have questioned the purview and intention of 13th amendment to the constitution purported to have been done with a clear partisan spirit. The sentiment expressed in the report and opinion expressed by the former chiefs of caretaker government and Advisers reflect those of every Bangladeshi citizen.

People in the country who had lived through the gruelling days of 1996 parliamentary election still wonder as to what went so seriously wrong that the then President Abdur Rahman Biswas without consulting the caretaker government, the defence ministry and even the chief of staff Lt. Gen. Nasim had to move into action with such lightning speed to axe two senior officers in the army and lastly Gen. Nasim for his refusal in toeing with the President's order. Undeniably true, the President of the Republic can exercise his constitutional obligations in case of national emergency, definitely even during the tenure of the elected government as Shankar Dayal Sharma, the President of India did in forcing the exit of Himachal Pradesh Governor Sheila Kaul in April 1996. Sheila Kaul, it might be mentioned, was indicted in corruption charges by the CBI.

The then President Abdur Rahman Biswas who could never show his charisma and stubbornness in resolving the political stalemate and crisis that ran for long two years during his tenure of presidency suddenly swung into action at the sight of a crisis that people till now wonder if had ever existed and brewed up to an extent threatening the security and stability of the nation.

Let us assume that the charges made were true but the time and the way action was taken in those days smacked of some ulterior 'motive' and inspiration from some other quarters purportedly aimed at fracturing the election process. Fortunately for the country, the caretaker government at that time even in the face of such a high pitch of provocation to its authority and governance worked most conscientiously and coolly only to ensure that the country did not again slip into quagmire of dirty politics of conflicts and clashes. With only twenty days left for the election at that time, the action by the head of the state had been most disturbing. Happily for the country, the Armed Forces in the country at that time even in the face of an assault on their image did not allow the crisis to escalate into a wholesale indiscipline just before the election.

In a situation that hardly prompted him to act, President Abdur Rahman Biswas played the dual role of a prosecutor and the judge.. People who were witness to that grim situation are questioning till this day if the constitutional obligation that the President of the country had exercised in those days by dismissing the chief of staff and two other officers of the rank of Major General and Brigadier could at all be done at the expense of dignity of the Army Chief and also without instituting a court of enquiry for the offences purported to have been committed by those officers.

The story cited above states the fact as to how things could possibly go wrong if the loopholes were not plugged well ahead of time. Going by the words of the Alliance leaders that they would win the next election because of their track records and better electoral alliance, BNP, the majority partner, should have no reason in refusing to accommodate the reform proposals tabled by the 14-party opposition combine. It sounds quite queer and illogical that the safety switch of a house on fire shall remain remote, completely out of reach, and the group of people called to douse the fire will be trying without any success to control it. To be more precise, the difficulties that the previous caretaker governments faced in dealing with the armed forces , now made public by them, reinforce people's demand to strengthen the CTG properly including its empowerment to handle the Armed Forces since security and neutrality are the prime concerns in the polls process.

That will mean scrapping the 13th amendment to the constitution purported to have been made in 1996 with some motive. After all constitution of a country is not that sacrosanct that it cannot be changed, even if it is needed, to end conflicts, clashes and turbulent situation in the country. Already ominous crisis of mythical proportions have taken hold over the country breaking down hopes and aspirations of people. Foremost among them is the political crisis bordering on the election issue. The administration, leaders of the political parties and their operators do not act on the basis of rational discussion and orderly action. The rule of reason and a consensus seem to be an illusion. Beautiful jargons continue to be the guiding spirit in the pages of newspapers, public speeches of the leaders and neatly arranged seminars. But the irony is that people and government are swept away by events that are uncontrollable and that push the country to the brink of an impending disaster.

But leadership in such a paramount crisis is a superhuman quality that must be called into play. There is no second thought or a shadow of doubt about the fact that almost all crises are consequences of blunders we have committed earlier. People raised their voices for a caretaker government in the parliamentary election of 1996 rather outraged by a bitter memory of Magura by-election. There comes the necessity of grasping the future implications of present events, and forestalling any likely catastrophe.

Historical records are galore with instances where great leaders imbued with statesmanship and pragmatism played very crucial role to set the record straight and saved their country from ignominy. Looking back to America in the last century, we can see that Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy, the past presidents owe their reputations to crisis leadership. By the same analogy, many leaders have been disgraced by crises, despite other accomplishments. L B.Johnson was destroyed by Vietnam war, Carter by Iranian hostage crisis and Nixon by Watergate scandal, Stalin and Khruschev for perpetrating an oppressive regime.

At the moment, in the country, the ruling party and the opposition parties are caught in a crisis of unusual dimensions with the possibility of either revitalising themselves or hastening their gloom. And because a crisis offers an opportunity to do normally impossible things, the potential of big gains or errors must be there. Still we have to act and our actions must always be backed by rational considerations, welfare of the masses and a look to the future.

Md Asadullah Khan is a former teacher of Physics and Controller of Examination, BUET.