As the chairperson of RPP-Nepal, the fourth largest party in parliament, Kamal Thapa has every right to continue to pursue the pet agendas of his party like restoration of monarchy and reinstatement of Hindu state. But he is also a deputy prime minister of the country, as well as its foreign minister and minister for federal affairs. This second role comes with its own set of responsibilities and limits. As a representative of the government of Nepal, which is now a constitutionally secular federal republic, he cannot be making statements against these constitutional provisions. But Thapa has in recent times openly spoken in favor of a Hindu state, with a constitutional monarch as its head. He says his party joined the government because at the time no less than the country's sovereignty was at stake and he decided to shelve the party's agenda in the larger national interest. Whatever the reason for his joining the government, he did choose to join it, voluntarily, and thereby agreed to uphold the country's laws. Still a government representative, he can't suddenly opt out of his duties.Kamal Thapa is not the only government minister who has been making such irresponsible statements. Another deputy prime minister and minister for poverty alleviation, Chitra Bahadur KC, has also, even after joining the government, repeatedly spoken against federalism, another fundamental tenet of the new constitution. Other ministers in the Oli cabinet have also time and again acted against the spirit of the supreme law of the land. We understand that prime minister KP Sharma Oli heads a coalition government and as such he has to defer to other parties on some agendas. That, however, does not mean that his ministers are free to say and do anything they like. We learn that DPM Thapa has of late been boycotting cabinet meetings to express displeasure over his exclusion from the new PM-headed committee on the implementation of federalism. This, again, is not done. In a parliamentary democracy all ministers defer to the prime minister, even if they disagree with some of his decisions. If there is a fundamental difference that cannot be overcome, they quit the government.
We respect the decision of Messrs Thapa and KC, as well as of other leaders in Oli government, to join the government at a time of crisis. The unity of the (largely leftist) political parties and their refusal to bow down before India's pressure tactics, in the long run, will be credited for safeguarding Nepal's vital interests at such a sensitive time. But joining a coalition government does not give them carte blanche. We find it extremely troubling when political parties should be working together to implement the new constitution, one of the senior ministers is touring the country saying things that undermine its letter and spirit. The focus of the governing parties should be to try to take the opposition Nepali Congress and Madheshi parties into confidence for smooth implementation of the constitution. Different government ministers working at cross purposes, with different goals in mind, will do just the opposite: promote impunity and misrule and make the opposition parties and the larger public doubt their intent.
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