Rumin’s comment on failing to get nomination: ‘Politics has become like a dustbin now’

Special Correspondent

BNP’s Deputy International Affairs Secretary Rumin Farhana has said that politics has become like a dustbin. The leader, who failed to win the nomination from BNP, said this on a private TV talk show.

Among the 237 people nominated by BNP this time, 10 are women. Analysts say that women’s leadership in politics is declining. It is also being said that some parties have not even fulfilled the 33 percent requirement for women’s leadership. This issue has also come up in several surveys. You are also a woman. Should women’s leadership have been given more priority? In fact, where is the deficiency? Is it a deficiency in the criteria of qualification or a deficiency in the political environment? Rumin Farhana was asked this question.

In response, he said, “Why would a woman who is educated, who has a dignified profession, who belongs to a good family, get into this filth? Politics has become like a dustbin now. After the advent of social media and cellphones in everyone’s hands, after the arrival of bot ID and AI, it’s an absolutely dustbin. An educated girl from a decent family who has a very bright future ahead, why would she come into politics? Considering everything, even if someone comes, the parties may not have much confidence.”

The BNP leader also said, “I don’t think there is a shortage of qualified women leaders in the big political parties. Maybe their number is less than that of men. But it is not so low that they will get only 3 or 4 percent nominations. Three or four out of 100, but that is too low actually.”

Regarding the statement of NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, “The big parties want to establish a monarchy by merging the small parties and that is why the issue of opposition to the alliance and opposition to the RPO amendment has come up,” he said, “Those who will be candidates of the alliance this time, if they have party registration, will have to contest elections on their own party symbol. There are two arguments for and against this issue.”

He said, “What the government has said is that small parties can never develop. They are always seen either going to parliament with the support of boats or going to parliament with the support of grains of rice. This makes the two-party system in Bangladesh stronger. There are many small parties, but they cannot flourish independently. So that the parties can flourish, that is why it has been said that this time, whoever has the brand, will have to be elected with that brand.”

The BNP leader also said, “If a party has a registration and symbol, then the question is, why don’t you do your own politics? I mean, you have taken the symbol of a party and you adopt the politics of that party, otherwise you can only do a rice sheaf or boat party. So what is the need to have a small party? These words are coming from the government. On the other hand, the BNP has said very clearly that the RPO that was amended at the last moment, those who have been in politics with this big party for a long time, have an expectation that we want to go to parliament.”

Rumin further said, “We want to be elected members of parliament. Perhaps they have formed an alliance with the big parties out of that expectation, and the big parties have also shown that there are so many political parties with me. An alliance has been formed by so many parties. There are arguments on both sides of this.”