Ensuring democratic accountability can revere rising income equality

Bangladesh is increasingly becoming an unjust society in terms of people’s daily income.

It has been rightly pointed out by an economic expert that Bangladesh now has become a country with two societies – one a low-income group and the other a high-income one.

Experts may point out many reasons for the growing income equality, but political failure – democratic failure to be precise – is the driving force behind all other failures.

Presently Bangladesh is going through a huge inflation – the highest food inflation in more than a decade – and a large section of Bangladesh’s population is unable to buy their foods that can ensure their balanced diet.

But on the other side of the spectrum, a section of people is getting rich. In fact, the economic dynamics has become such that rich people are getting richer and the poor people are getting poorer.

A few days ago, it was reported that the number of bank accounts holding Tk 1 crore or more increased by 3,362 in the three months through June.

The central bank data showed that the number of accounts with more than Tk 1 crore stood at 1.14 lakh at the end of June, up from 1.10 lakh at the end of the March quarter. Even more than that, Bangladesh’s economy has been centralised in the hands of a few oligarchs under the direct patronisation of a government that has been in power without people’s mandate.

On the other side of the spectrum is the reality when voices of the distressed people are not reaching to the highest level of society.

This uneven economic development is bound to create restlessness among the members of society. But this has not been the spirit of the Liberation War for which the nation made the supreme sacrifice.

If equal participation of all citizens cannot be ensured in running the affairs of the state through free and fair elections in running the affairs of the state, the gap between the rich and the poor will widen even more in the days ahead.

Only democratic accountability can give a space for strengthening the voices of those people and citizens who are lagging behind in terms of economic well being. Social and economic justice is a must to create a humanistic society where everybody’s rights will be well protected.