I agree with those who have argued that the reform shouldn't be treated like a formula. Minus the head of a political party will not suffice. Reform should run deeper and it should be done the way we would fight a viral attack. We should go after and destroy the last layer of contamination.

The first question is whether the reform is about new beginning or giving a second chance. The rule of thumb is clear of course. The political parties will not be allowed to do it in the old-fashioned way and they must be pluralistic, accountable and transparent.

But whatever we do, we are not going to run correctional centers for political delinquents. This reform is not about rehabilitating failed politicians. That includes the heads of the major political parties, who pushed this country to the brink of disaster.

They may not realize that for more than one reason, they are no longer fit to lead this nation. If they are charged and convicted, it will make their removal obvious. If not, there is enough reason why they should not consider staying at the helm.

What about the second line of leadership who sucked up to their party bosses? All these years they clung to power and took advantage. Some of them are already in jail and likely to be indicted in due course.

There are others who are still floating around, busybodies pushing reform on the double. Their best hope is that the joint forces will forget to pick them up if they show enough enthusiasm for the reform. Let us call them the opportunists and leave them for a while to marinate in our imagination.

Meanwhile, the bad news is that the two top leaders of the top two political parties are still under the illusion that they are in a position to call the shots. It is the height of political hubris that, while they should be smitten by shame and guilt, they still consider themselves worthy leaders who should influence party decisions in their typical style and hauteur. Perhaps a good piece of advice to them is to relinquish their posts. The reform should leave no room for leaders who have let us down.

Those who are in jail and if charges are proven against them, they should be dropped from their parties like hot potatoes. One of the salient features of reform should be that a convicted criminal who has served time for any period of time ought not to get party membership, let alone party position or nomination to contest elections. Such people shouldn't be allowed to work for the party and even to make campaign contributions.

Now let us go back to the opportunists who are behaving like the third yeanling prancing around the mother goat. How many of them are clean? How many of them have not made money when their parties were in power? It is double standard if they hated the loot but kept the booty. The reform should screen them at the gate.

That makes us turn to the Anti-Corruption Commission. We should know the names of all the suspects, so that everyone is alerted as to who should not enter the new politics. This is necessary because it will be difficult to remove them afterwards.

By that time they will exert sufficient clout in the new set up and might be able to thwart off any bid to exclude them. Besides, the renewed struggle to unseat them will reopen the wound and might even become a drag on the next election.

It is important that this reform should be conducted in the full panoply of a revolution. It should infuse fresh blood into the system, new faces into the political arena, new thoughts, new values, and an altogether new campaign. And this should be done with utmost caution. The remains of the decadent era must not seep into the rocks of new dawn.

In so much as the political parties have the right to choose their leaders, the Election Commission can help by enforcing their qualifications. Anyone who may have been tainted by corruption, who may have taken advantage of power in any of the previous governments, defaulted on bank loans, acquired unexplained wealth, cheated on taxes, subverted laws of the land, or has been simply good for nothing, should not become a leader. No matter how popular he or she might be with the party cadres. Time has come for our politicians to graduate from fiery demagogues to furious leaders.

The reform initiative is not about old wine in new bottle. At best we can accept new wine in old bottle. The old political parties will stay, but the leadership must change. The top two leaders and their second line should step aside as their last favor to this nation. The reform will be deformed should they still push their own agenda and resist change.

This is an acid test for Bangladesh. We missed our first chance in 1971. We missed the second in 1990. This is our third chance, and if we are counting anything, this is what we ought to be counting now. Minus one, minus two, minus as many as needed. But this time we can't afford to fail. It must work.

The good signs are already there. It is breaking political parties, breaking alliances, breaking families and breaking friendships. So be it. You don't make an omelet, if you don't break a few eggs. Let the old crumble and the new fumble but the march of change must go on.

When a revolution fails, it devours its own children. But the failure of reform can be worse. It mauls and leaves everyone badly wounded. Then history does its own minuses, and brings more pain.

Mohammad Badrul Ahsan is a banker.