Method in the madness.

The hurriedly arranged meeting had just started. Except for one who had a cheeky smile on his face, all looked perplexed and stressed out.

First: The joke is gone far enough. Even our Chinese friends have expressed surprise at our inability to dissipate the situation. The diplomatic enclave is filled with rumors.

Second: Government is unable to stop the onslaught. Difficult to fight with your own masses. Its real. Its not the social media chit chat anymore. Its real.

Third: He seems to be invincible. The modern day Six Million Dollar Man. Hit by four bullets but still up and about. Give the man his due. You may disagree with his logic but he is determined to prove a point or two. Come to think of it, he is seventy but look at the kind of energy he exudes. Amazing fellow.

Fourth: Victor Frankenstein is ashamed. Once again, the experiment has backfired. I think the time has come they realised the age of experimentation was over.

Old Man: If he survives the disqualification charade, good luck to him. Never mind the bullets. It didn't work. Let him complete the circle. 'Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.'

Fifth: Why do you have to kill the fly with a hammer? Before hitting hard, Mohammad Ali would exhaust his opponent. If his sit-in lasts for ten months, so what? Even the die-hard supporters will leave him.

Sixth: And what about his comparison with Awami League and Mujeeb? We are still nursing our wounds of 1971. Cannot afford to have such propaganda go on and on.

Fifth: So, are you suggesting he should be arrested? No, Sir. That would go in his favour. Counter-productive. You wouldn't be able to sustain the public pressure. Haven't you seen him holding a press conference from the hospital? There would be unending speeches from his jail cell and his colleagues would happily be conveying his messages of 'true independence' during the entire period of his incarceration. No, Sir. That's a non-starter.

Economist: Inflation. No investment. No FDIs. Declining exports. No funds for imports. The Net Future Business Confidence score has worsened by fifty percent since the beginning of 2022. Its now at minus ten. The political uncertainty must stop. Why don't you hold elections?

Old Man: Thunder and cloud-breaking does not last forever. The movement has lost its initial momentum. He will have to realise the ground realities. Let November pass by. No decisions until the second week of December.

...