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Bureaucrats should not be allowed to enter politics before five years into the retirement.Speakers at a regional consultation meeting on 'Democratic process: Election and Parliamentary System' observed this in Barisal yesterday. The dialogue was organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo.

Terming the politicians most corrupt, they also suggested the government and the civic society should act as a watchdog to prevent their corruption. Firoz Alam of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) presented the keynote paper and Advoacte Enayet Pir Khan, principal of Barisal Law College, attended it as chief guest. Matiur Rahman, editor of the Prothom Alo and Debapriya Bhattcharya, executive director of the CPD, also spoke.

Most of the speakers came down hard on politicians. Criminals are being patronised by the politicians, said Enayet Pir, adding that they would not have survived a single day without the support of their political godfathers. He also said society couldn't have the rule of law when justices get appointment on the strength of their political inclination.

Echoing Enayet Pir's sentiment journalist Shawkat Milton said criminals could go scot-free because of politicians. "But the irony is that those politicians linked with criminals shed crocodile tears in public meetings," he said.

Abdul Hai Mahbub, a prominent Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader, stated that politicians do not care for the country, but their party. Anawar Jahid, an NGO worker, meanwhile, proposed that if any lawmaker remain absent in the parliament, his or her honorarium should be cut.

Shawkat Hossain Hiron, joint secretary of Barisal Awami League, said that had all the political parties refrained from nominating criminals the parliament could have been an ideal place to work for the people. Advocate Abdul Majid Munshi observed that lawmakers should not stay away from the parliament for long as it is the only way to keep democratic process alive.

Dr Kaniz Siddique of the North South University (NSU), Pilu Kabir of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh, Advocate Abdul Gaffar of Manabadhikar Bastobayon Sangstha, Awami League leader Talukdar Mohammad Enamul, Rahima Sultana Kazol, NGO worker Ranjit Datta, freedom fighter Nurul Alam Farid, Aminul Haque, Nurzahan Begum of Mahila Parishad, Advocate Abdul Hai Mahmud and Saiful Alam Chowdhury also addressed the dialogue, chaired by leading businessmen of the district Md. Jalal Ahmed.