After all, how can anybody compare Mr Rahman's own contribution to establishing honesty and integrity in the country over the last five years? Immediately after the BNP won the 2001 elections, he placed people of the highest integrity as state and deputy ministers in almost all the ministries. These 'nominees', by acting as alternative power base, made many of the ministries completely dysfunctional (ask the ministers) and corrupt. To guide them towards ruining, sorry I meant running, the country he set up the Hawa Bhaban whose reputation for financial propriety and probity remains unmatched in the country till date. Finally, in the last several months he worked tirelessly for marginalising the old leadership in the BNP and setting up his own alternative chains of sycophants so that after the next election he can serve the country unchallenged. When such is his contribution, here comes a few tie and suit wearing civil society upstarts (forgive me but don't most ministers wear tie and suit, and didn't President Ziaur Rahman actually look quite impressive in his western clothes) and start questioning the way politics is being done today. Such temerity can neither be tolerated nor forgiven. So, they must be discredited, and so what if truth needs to be thrown to the wind for that.

Mr Rahman is also correct in castigating us for talking politics before the election. How dare we try to confuse the public by raising issues like "honest candidates", good governance, and corruption? After all, who are we? What are our credentials to talk about politics? Yes, we can be voters, we can be citizens of Bangladesh and we may also be taxpayers, but how can all that entitle us to talk about politics and that also before the election? Only politicians can talk about politics, free and fair elections, etc. After all, we are just voters, taxpayers and citizens. Our fault, for which we must plead guilty, is that we took our democracy seriously. We forgot that in our democracy, politics is the monopoly of the politicians. Our role as voters is to keep our questions to ourselves and, like good and obedient children, silently cast our votes on the Election Day. Any attempt to raise issues, challenge what the politicians are doling out as truths and demand accountability is basically a 'subversion of democracy" and must be silenced at the earliest. Mr Rahman asked how honest are we? A very natural question by someone being surrounded by people and being in an environment where such questions need to be asked but are not. We ask you to go through the list of the citizens committee, investigate their track record and then ask your question. You have the power to call for their wealth statements and tax returns. Do so, and examine them. But please also return the favour.

Mr Tarique Rahman has also questioned us about attending international conferences. People like Prof Rehman Sobhan, Prof Mohammad Yunus and Mr Fazle Hasan Abed are guilty of having gained tremendous international respect. It may come as a surprise to Mr Rahman and the company he keeps that people all over the world are willing to invite people like them to listen to what they have to say (Our politicians know everything, so they do not have to listen). Some of us also occasionally get invited to speak and contribute papers. These gatherings usually bring together professionals who learn from each other and try find out ways of improving whatever they are doing (for me journalism). Obviously being in a "I know everything" environment, it is difficult for our politicians to understand that all over the world people are actually learning from each other and international conferences are places where such exchanges take place. On the question of non-elected government taking power, Mr Tarique Rahman is fighting a shadow here. If he had spent a little bit of his valuable time in finding out what we say and what is discussed in the meeting we have been holding, he would have known that we have always emphasised that elections have to be held, and in time. We are in favour of electoral reforms so that a generally acceptable free and fair election takes place. We have strongly opposed the idea of election boycott and said if all conditions for a fair election are created, the opposition will have no public support for boycotting it. All our discussions, which are then shown on Channel i and whose transcripts are published in The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, clearly show how much we have contributed to strengthening the election process. Mr Rahman's accusations on this score are so far from facts that they should really be termed outright lies.

While pleading guilty, once again, for having taken our democratic rights seriously, we pledge to indulge in this 'crime' of talking politics over and over again with all our might, for we refuse to accept the definition that politics must remain the sole right and absolute monopoly of politicians. Citizens of democratic countries all over the world talk politics. They always have, and they always will. So will we, and that is our promise.