UML's proposal

The proposal floated by the CPN-UML to end the present political deadlock coming two days before the fifth round of election for prime minister appears to be a preemptive action by a party which has deservedly received all-round flak for remaining neutral in previous four rounds. A section of the party led by its chairman Jhalanath Khanal, after working hard to bring down the government led by one of its leaders saying it was the only way to forge a consensus government, is now in a bind. The motive is questionable since the proposal is silent on who will lead the government. The two candidates in the contest for the prime minister’s post are from the largest- and the second-largest parties in the parliament.



However, the proposal by the UML could be a way forward. It at least brings to the fore issues which have been neglected for some months. The proposal is yet another stark reminder on the breach of pledges by the largest party, UCPN (Maoist), time and again. An ambitious proposal in the party’s concept paper includes the plan to complete the peace process in the next four months. This must be discussed in detail by all the parties. Similarly, it has made another interesting proposal: Allowing Maoist combatants, who are staying in cantonments spread across the country, to voluntarily exit from the Maoist army and separating the remaining combatants into two groups – those desiring rehabilitation and those interested in integration. This idea certainly seems worthy of debate. The issue of the management of Maoist combatants has undoubtedly been the biggest stumbling block so far in taking the peace process forward. If this proposal helps in amicably settling the fate of the Maoist combatants, it must be looked at seriously.



The other important ideas floated in the concept papers include dismantling the para-military structure of the Young Communist League – the Maoist youth wing – within a week and returning properties seized by Maoist cadres in a fortnight. Yet another idea is on power-sharing on the basis of the strength of the parties in parliament. The detailed proposal would certainly be worth a look.



We will repeat what we have said for the umpteenth time in this space: If the Maoist party agrees to honor its innumerable pledges on the issues mentioned – the UML proposal is a reminder to that – then there should be no doubt as to which party should lead the next government. In that case, Nepali Congress should withdraw its candidate and join the government led by the Maoists and other parties should be given berths in the cabinet as per their strength. If the Maoists do not agree, the UML, and the Madhesi parties, which have also remained neutral so far, should not hesitate to lend support to the NC candidate for prime minister. The exercise for consensus on constitution-writing and concluding the peace process can go on. But at least we will have a government to replace a caretaker one. On these scores, the UML proposal falls short.

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