The Maoists have made their position very clear: They want either an amendment in the constitution to ‘clearly’ define the roles of the President and the prime minister or a vote of credit bill being brought in by the government instead of a full budget. The Maoists have also said that they will not allow the President to come to parliament to present the government’s policy and program. As the general practice goes, the government first presents its policy and program in parliament, which is then followed by the budget presentation.
As we see it, there is no need for a constitutional amendment to redefine the roles of the President and the prime minister since these are already well-defined. Nor do we think the President made a mistake in blocking the decision of then Prime Minister Puspha Kamal Dahal to sack the army chief. Instead, it is Dahal who violated the constitution by not recommending to the President the sacking of the army chief and appointment of his successor. The President simply took a political decision to block implementation of that unconstitutional act. As protector of the constitution he was duty-bound to do so and never forget that he did so upon the request of political parties representing a majority in parliament. It is, therefore, the parties in government that cannot accept the Maoist demand to skip presentation of the government’s policy and program by the President in parliament. To accept that demand would be unconstitutional and morally wrong.
In a parliamentary system, when parties fail to agree on any issue the dispute is settled on a majority basis. As has been done on many past occasions, parliament cannot be held hostage by a minority for an indefinite period. One of the weaknesses of our political parties is that they have not yet learned to accept a majority decision, which is nothing but a rejection of the very practice of democracy. We see this problem even within the parties. Almost all the parties have split in the past because a bellicose minority refused to accept a majority decision. Parties, and particularly the Maoists, must learn that democracy is not a system ruled by the minority. We urge the parties to settle this dispute through a vote in parliament.
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