CA members deployed to the Karnali region for collecting public opinion about the new constitution returned to the capital with the realization that livelihood was more important to people out there than the contents of the proposed constitution.
“Most of the people had a common view -- Karnali must be autonomous and food must be easily available,” said CA member Malbarsingh Thapa, a leader of the Rastriya Janamukti Party who was deployed to Dolpa district. “Food, roads and irrigation took precedence over the constitution wherever I went.”
Only political activists focused on the constitution while ordinary people concentrated on their day-to-day problems. “Regular flights from Nepalgunj to Simikot was their strongest demand,” Thapa said.
Nepali Congress member in the CA Dhana Raj Gurung, who also went to Dolpa, found people already divided on partisan lines. “Those who are affiliated with the political parties demanded either a presidential or a prime ministerial system,” he said.
He said there was also another set of people who never talked about the contents of the constitution but always urged the lawmakers to provide them rice, salt and water without hassle.
Day-to-day needs were naturally a first for people in backward regions like Karnali but they were also more conscious politically than people in city areas, argued Dr Bijay Poudel, a CPN-UML member deployed to Jumla. “One thing, however, was clear: almost everyone demanded autonomy for the Karnali region,” said Poudel. “They wanted a provision under which they can manage their natural resources themselves.”
Poudel said he found the people clearly and openly divided along partisan lines. “But they did not follow the party lines of the center religiously,” he said.
After days of interaction with people in Mugu, Nepali Congress member Dr Minendra Rijal concluded that the opinion collection campaign was almost a failure. “Until we address the minimum requirements of people in these regions, there is no point collecting their opinions about the contents of the constitution,” he argued.
Food, shelter and clothing also came ahead of the constitution in the view of Maoist CA member Chinak Kurmi who was in Dolpa to sound out local opinion. “They wanted an airport in Pahada village completed at the earliest and easy access to food,” said Kurmi.
“Naturally they were more focused on the development agenda for Karnali but we found that the people in the region had clear views about what sort of political system they wanted,” said Kurmi. “Most of them wanted a directly elected president and election of the judges.” He, however, conceded that Maoist cadres had greater participation that the cadres of other political parties.
yuvraj@myrepublica.com
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