Opinion A house in disrepair

On the night of May 28,people gathered in large numbers in front of the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) building — a gift from China in the ’80s — which functions as the constitutent assembly hall. Some of them had bundles of green grass meant for the members. “They are animals and we must feed them grass when they cease to be members in few hours”,they yelled. Facebook messages and text messages referred to “water-dipped nettle of 601” — thrashing people with water-dipped nettles is traditional punishment for social crimes in Nepal. The number 601 indicated the strength of the constituent assembly.

It was in this atmosphere of threat and pressure that Oli was forced to reconsider his reluctance for a fresh lease of life for the house. But this would not have been possible without securing Maoist support for the constitutional amendment bill,for which they had fixed a heavy price tag — Prime Minister Madhav Nepal’s resignation within the next five days (by June 2). “Why wait till June 2 ?” Oli asked UCPN-M chief Prachanda. The agreement signed said that the prime minister would resign “without delay”. A three-point understanding subsequently signed by the heads of the three big parties,which together constitute a two-thirds majority,said that while the Maoists would agree to resolve past understandings,Prime Minister Nepal would pave the way for the national unity government. Having been assured of its extended life,the house met at 11.35 pm — 15 hours and 35 minutes behind the scheduled time — but without any expression of remorse for its failure to meet the constitution delivery deadline. The only message that was given was “we have saved the country from an impending constitutional crisis which would have emerged in the absence of the constituent assembly”. In short,their collective incompetence and betrayal was rewarded.

Less than a week after the understanding,the three parties have offered their own interpretations. The Maoists say that the prime minister’s resignation must come now and it should not be linked with other provisions mentioned in the May 28 statement. The Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML assert that the Maoists must return the land and property they confiscated during the years of insurgency,and begin the process of transforming the Young Communist League (YCL) into a civilian outfit besides cooperating in the process of rehabilitating and integrating Maoist combatants.

The government and the two major parties — Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML — have even given up their earlier opposition to Maoist combatants entering the Nepal army so that UCPN-M goes to the next poll without a private army,something that gave Maoists an extra advantage during the constituent assembly election in April 2008.

There is no arbitrator in this ongoing tussle. Oli says the prime minister will resign the moment Maoists honour their commitment. Things are at a standstill. However,the net outcome has been an extended year for the house that has already consumed around Rs 13.5 billion since its election,and will likely further cost Rs 10 billion. Moreover,the house faces a great moral dilemma. It has become an object of wide ridicule,so how ethical and constitutional will it be for the members to extend their own tenure? The big three are still squabbling over the interpretation of the May 28 understanding. Clearly,constitution writing and sorting out their differences on fundamental issues like the model of governance,federalism,the independence of the judiciary etc. are not the first priority,even now. The constitution assembly members have won this round,but Nepal’s citizens are once again the losers.

yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com