Khaleda’s call

As per a newspaper report (February 16) Khaleda Zia while addressing an award-giving function of the ‘Shapla Kuri 2006’ held in Dhaka called for ‘making Bangladesh an ideal place for grooming children as good citizens.’ She also gave some advice to the children. My simple question is: does she mean what she said to the children? The children of today can read newspapers. They watch TV. From the recent newspaper reports and telecasts made by the TV channels they have already learnt that Khaleda Zia is one of our two top political leaders (the other being Sheikh Hasina) under whose direct patronisation politics has been so much criminalised that the country has come to a point of collapse. Publication of children’s textbooks which are full of mistakes; creation of artificial crisis of writing papers in the market; grabbing of parks and playgrounds for children by godfathers; adulteration of baby food, food grains, medicines; unlawful occupation of government lands and property; politicisation of bureaucracy and wanton corruption by politicians and government servants — do all these activities carried out under her rule as the prime minister make Bangladesh an ideal place for grooming children as good citizens? Madame Khaleda Zia, please don’t take our children as fools. They are born in the age of the Internet and digital technology. You can no more befool them, as you and your cohorts have been befooling many of their parents in the last 15 years.