But, hang on; it was not only NC heavyweight GP Koirala, together with some anti-(Chairman Jhala Nath) Khanal UML stalwarts, who orchestrated the whole drama. The script and background music were virtually composed in New Delhi and the drama was performed here in Kathmandu. Still, the out-and-out truth is that the remote control is in New Delhi. Nepal’s top puppet actors act, frolic and show silly pranks on the command of the foreign master.
Madhav Kumar Nepal should carefully devise new equations to form a new consensual national government, offering a serious and sober commitment to the people.
Actually, the real circus set in motion, when the then PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s quick jabs on Chief of Army Staff Roomangud Katawal didn’t produce any effect. And then what we saw, in an ironic twist of events, was the president jumping into the ring, and packing a mighty (counter) punch that sent Dahal flying off Singha Durbar. That was the beginning of Nepal’s ascension to the throne, heralding the beginning of another nameless chaos.
One wonders as to how the incumbent PM defines the term democracy. Being himself a liberal leftist who is believed to respect democracy, doesn’t he have a bit of morality and professional ethics (which actually most of Nepal’s politicians don’t have) to accept the nomination as prime minister, when the people have openly disfavored him, as he very well knows? Now it’s been a month after taking over as PM and his inability to give a complete shape to his cabinet has added to his indignity.
Moreover, what madness has gotten the better of PM Nepal to choose ministers who are losers in CA elections and non-CA members and those nominated under the proportional representation system? The current coalition headed by UML has made a mockery of democracy and has contributed hugely to (almost) derailing the peace process.
This time around, NC has shown us a new Nepali version of ‘Theory of Relativity’, which means everything is for the relatives; let the rest go to hell. Nepal’s inherent ‘power-at-any-cost’ (no matter how) politics has become a matter of shame for the country. Where is people’s supremacy (not in a Maoist sense)? Why stage the drama of elections when the losers govern the country? One of the most pivotal components of democracy is election, among others. To govern the country, one must win in elections. Shame!
Meanwhile, the Maoists must change their dogmatic and dangerous ways to ensure change for better in society. Drunken with war arrogance, their simultaneous interferences into nearly all government organs, including army and education to revamp overnight (their ways) were their gravest naivety and folly on their part. Some reasons for their downfall: Their overt disregard for intelligentsias, media and the dearth of a qualified credible advisory committee to steer the party right (A reminder: Ex-king Gyanendra’s made the same mistake). Rather than pushing the process of constitution-drafting ahead, they were heavily pre-occupied in petty political issues and non-issues (the case of the army chief), leaving the developmental agendas locked up in the closet. Above all, their crude unilateral style of dealing with policies disenchanted all. Finally, as the Indian Maoists got the stigma of ‘terrorist’ recently, while the Nepali Maoists are still on the US terrorist list, it is about time for the latter to think, plan and float with the time.
Well, among the members of the international community, I can’t tell what it is cooking in the American cauldron to feed Nepal. I really wish the United States had stepped in to intervene the lynching of democracy (losers in, winners out). The job of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights-Nepal (OHCHR-N) is (partly) supposed to be the capacity building of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other rights organizations and assist to the extent of monitoring human rights related to the peace process but not to take sole leadership or meddle in local politics. After all, what has OHCHR-N contributed to the nation since 2005? Near to nothing. Please pack off.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new Nepal to what John Kenneth Galbraith memorably calls ‘functional anarchy’. You never know whether you can return home from work; you don’t know whether your children are safe in the school and will return home; you never know which ugly inflation will hit the domestic market next. You never know. All you know is ‘fear’ and ‘insecurity’.
No matter what, PM Nepal is already on board to navigate the nation. This is the last opportunity for him to prove his mettle. He should carefully devise new equations to form a new consensual national government, offering a serious and sober commitment to the people, not just hackneyed rhetoric. We’ll see.
Gurung is author of seven books and his latest is Nepal: Negotiating a Path through Quagmire
Related story
Monsoon Alert: Heavy rainfall likely in five provinces today
-1200x560-1781083488.webp)
