Opinion More lucky than the king?
Nepal is disillusioned with its political parties will it repose faith in the president alone?
Long queues and motorbikes parked along the pavement blocking pedestrian movement are normal scenes outside the Narayanhiti royal palace,once the seat of majestic power in Nepal. The building that houses the foreign ministry,which was turned into a public museum after Nepal became a republic,holds out a picture of a hopeless future. Throngs of Nepalis,mainly able-bodied youths,jostle to get passports in thousands every day. According to official figures,around 400,000 passports were issued last year,and the figure might almost double this year.
Shrinking job opportunities,rising crime and lawlessness,and a series of ineffective and unresponsive governments have contributed to this despair. Young people continue to leave on a large scale,most of them aspiring for low-skilled jobs in the Middle East despite the fact that hundreds of female workers have returned home after facing physical torture,sexual exploitation and denial of wages there.
On December 2,about 100 taxi drivers parked their vehicles outside the Narayanhiti building,demanding that they be allowed to charge fares arbitrarily instead of having to follow meter readings. It paralysed traffic for more than two hours as the police demoralised in the past few years by frequent road obstructions by drivers who are backed by one or the other of the political parties running Nepal could not do much. The form and scale of lawlessness has clearly been a by-product of Nepals politics and governance,and the wilful disregard of rules and accountability.
On November 30,Madhav Kumar Nepal,who has been caretaker prime minister for the last five months,defied President Rambaran Yadavs directive not to go abroad so frequently when the country faces a political and constitutional deadlock. Despite the rebuke,Madhav Nepal not only took the unreasonably longer route Kathmandu-Doha,Doha-Bangkok and Bangkok-Phnom Penh to participate in the International Conference of Asian Political Parties,a brain-child of Reverend Moon,he also used state funds for his political mission. The constituent assembly,which also works as the parliament,has been acting as a rubber stamp of the three major political parties the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M),the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist that the prime minister belongs to. So it is unlikely that the standards for ministerial conduct and behaviour will ever be debated there. To sum up,the euphoric support for radical politics and change has only institutionalised anarchy,uncertainty and chaos in the country. The chances of getting the new constitution delivered on May 28,2011 the extended deadline are just as remote,as the constituent assembly has only been able to sit for a day during the first six months of the remaining life of the House.
The deep distrust among the political parties is manifested in their inability to elect a new prime minister,a full five months after Prime Minister Madhav Nepals resignation. The major parties,all internally divided,have failed to come together and settle more than 200 issues,including the model of federalism and governance that the future constitution must put forth. In such a situation,it is not merely citizens who are up in arms against these political parties. The president has also begun expressing his displeasure,and his sense of being ignored and defied by the government,including the prime minister,may trigger a new chapter of confrontation in Nepals politics.
That could bring things full circle,with the parties that came together four years ago with a pledge to pursue politics of consensus being thoroughly discredited,and being both the causes and the helpless witnesses to the demise of the promised consensus. The resulting chaos may worry the president,but legal and political opinion is divided over whether he can replace the political parties and take over power with the support of the Nepal army,something that King Gyanendra tried at the cost of his throne. But he has been winning popularity,as well as the benefit of the doubt from a larger section of the people. In the present context,President Yadav is seen as the last hope,but if he resorts to an extreme step,will that carry the legitimacy and support of the people,and that of the international community? And will the president be luckier than the king?
yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com
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