The aggressive rhetoric being spewed out, particularly by the two leaders of the BNP and AL, are only making matters worse. Only the good sense and compunction on the part of the two major parties for the trouble caused to the people because of their politics can save us from a terrible uncertainty that is likely to follow should they fail to reconcile.

Over the last fifteen years of the democratic regime whatever may have been the animus displayed by the two parties towards each other during their tenure in office, the period of the caretaker government (CTG) came as a respite to the people. It was a period during which the political parties exercised a modicum of self-restrain by holding back from all the caustic politics that was generally the order of the day before the CTG took over.

It used to be period of calm with no "lagatar hartal" or "bandh" and most gratifying was the positive turn for the better that one noticed in respect of law and order. Also, a refreshing feature was the balanced coverage in the state controlled media. It was a time when the public was spared the shameful and unbearable monopolization of the government media, particularly the BTV, by the political party in power.

It is not so this time.

The assumption of the caretaker government was preceded by near chaos and death and destruction, although the president's assumption of the office of the chief advisor of the CTG was grudgingly accepted by the opposition, because of the manner in which it was done. It is a great responsibility on the president's shoulders indeed, given his frail health and the large number of ministries and divisions he has chosen to keep under him.

Without making a value judgment of the process of the president's arrogating to himself the post of the chief of the CTG, it is perhaps no wonder that his role has come under fire, but, while so long he was the butt of the 14-party alliance criticisms, he and the CTG are now under fire from both the camps. And the two-pronged assault is not a good thing. The threats and counter-threats by the two camps against each other as also the threats levelled at the president and the CTG have very disturbing potential. And this is the most worrisome development for the common person.

To begin with, what should be a neutral non-party CTG is really a "some party" if not an "all party" CTG. But that does not necessarily make them incapable of acting neutrally. But what has compounded the issue is the uncompromising stand of the two camps that has put the caretaker government under tremendous pressure, something that the previous three CTG were never subjected to.

Having to measure every action and weigh the consequences of their every step in advance, lest it ruffle the feathers of one camp or the other, will certainly hamper the decision making process of the CTG. To assume that it will not act neutrally and ask it to prove its neutrality as the AL is doing and to accuse it of conspiracy as the BNP has done very recently is likely to render the CTG dysfunctional.

Surely the CTG must not only be neutral in spirit, its actions must also be seen to be so. But the pressure tactics employed by both the camps will not help in fulfilling its major task, which is to hold a free and fair election. It is interesting to note that the demands that are being made by the AL now are very similar to what the BNP was making during the tenure of the CTG in 2001, (calling for the removal of the Shafiur Rahman, one of the election commissioners, among other things) and vice-versa. But there were no threats of countrywide siege or disruption of election or charges of conspiracy against the CTG.

However, in the middle of the pressure tactics of the two political camps we notice some very useful suggestions being made by the civil society and various citizens' group. Some members of the council of advisors have acknowledged their relevance. One would hope that these would receive the due considerations of the CTG.

The threat of continuous country-wide siege from November 13 announced by the AL and Sheikh Hasina's suggestion that there would be more bloodshed if the 14-party demands, relating to the EC were not met by November 12 causes us equal anxiety.

There are several questions that one would like to ask as a common citizen. First, whom are we laying the siege against? Knowing the serious implication of a siege, will it not amount to self-destruction when we are putting ourselves under blockade and bringing the country to a standstill? After all, there is no foreign force that we are fighting against that the siege would drive away!

And what will be the consequence if the other party tries to disrupt the siege program? The answer is very obvious. As the AL leader has said, more bloodshed. Has the party not learnt from its recent siege program? Can we afford the repetition of the barbarism that we had recently witnessed?

And in the middle of all this, some political quarters are talking about extra-constitutional intervention. It is not only untimely, it is utterly wrong and unwise to even suggest the possibility of a military takeover. Political crisis is not something that is unknown in a democratic setup, and it must be resolved through political means alone. Having spent fifteen years in a democratic system anything other than a democratic and political solution will only demonstrate the inability of the polity to resolve political issues by themselves. It cannot bode well for us.

There is merit in the demand of the 14-party alliance in respect of the CEC, which is also the demand of the greater majority of the people. The CEC's actions have made him lose the confidence of the voters, and Khaleda Zia's certificate that it is working well will not make them change their mind unless also the voter list is rectified. Even some of the senior BNP leaders are on record for criticizing the CEC. Certainly election can't be held on the basis of a flawed voter list. And the lack of time for redaction is an utterly unacceptable excuse.

The demands of the AL and the 14-party alliance are just, but their current methods and means of realizing those are not. The consequences are so unpredictable as to be outside the ability of the political parties to put right.

The author is Editor, Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.