We are quite flabbergasted by the volley of cases filed against senior leaders and activists of BNP right after the party staged a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on Monday. According to the case statement, some party supporters had blasted crude bombs, vandalised vehicles, obstructed police activities and even attempted to kill police—at the instigation of the BNP-Jamaat leaders who encouraged them to carry out subversive acts. Strangely enough, two BNP stalwarts who did not even attend the rally had cases filed against them, one of them being abroad!

The absurdity of such actions is not lost on anyone. Reportedly, nobody heard any bombs blast or saw any kind of trouble at the rallies. Eyewitnesses have said that what they did see were some individuals being picked up by plainclothes men. The BNP leaders have been accused of delivering "provocative and anti-government" speeches. As far as we know, isn't that what opposition party leaders have always done? Is it not illogical to expect the opposition parties that want to win in the elections to sing praises of the incumbent party at a political rally?

Regrettably, such arbitrary arrests have become the order of the day. Innumerable arrests and similar cases have been filed against members of the opposition parties in the recent past. These include cases filed against individuals who were abroad at the time of the incident they have been accused of being involved in, as well as people who have passed away before the time of the "incident". Such actions make it obvious that these are politically motivated arrests and cases intended to harass and intimidate opposition parties.

It is disappointing that after all the promises of ensuring a level playing field for parties to compete against each other at the parliamentary elections, what we see are continued attempts to clamp down on the opposition on flimsy or non-existent grounds. Unrestrained participation and politicking are the only way to ensure a participatory election. And that is what the government should ensure.