As his troops patrolled the streets of Kathmandu to restore order after two days of violent protests triggered the fall of the K P Sharma Oli government, Nepal Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel Wednesday appeared to have succeeded in persuading Sushila Karki, former Chief Justice of Nepal, to step in as the interim Chief Executive of the country. It is learnt that General Sigdel who held several rounds of talks with groups behind the Gen Z protests and other individuals — he met some together, others separately — drove to Karki’s house in Dhapasi around 2 am Wednesday and told her that she would be the most appropriate person to lead the interim government. Karki was reluctant to take up the offer but agreed 15 hours later when the Gen Z groups made a formal request. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, whose name as a likely contender for interim chief had been floated by a section of the Gen Z protesters, also endorsed Karki as the interim Chief Executive. In the several rounds of talks that he held, General Sigdel, it is learnt, sought suggestions on restoring normalcy soonest, a common minimum agenda, and the formation of an interim government as early as Thursday or Friday. Nepal’s first woman Chief Justice, Karki retired in June 2017 in not so happy circumstances. She was placed under suspension after the Nepali Congress registered an impeachment notice in the Parliament Secretariat but did not press it once she retired. This time, she will have the Nepal Army by her side which will be working with her to deliver a new Constitution within a specified timeframe – the 10-year-old Constitution is now considered defunct. In March this year, General Sigdel is said to have warned Oli not to arrest former King Gyanendra Shah or place him under House arrest when he appeared to be riding a popularity wave. With the country now in flames and the Oli government gone, the Nepal Army, for the first time, has stepped in, following a silent consensus among political parties and the Gen Z groups, with twin objectives: first, put out the fire, stop plunder and anarchy, and, second, bring diverse political forces to the dialogue table to decide the polity. In 2006, as Nepal embarked on a radical political journey to eventually become a secular republic, the Royal Nepal Army became the Nepal Army. But it remained apolitical, accepting political and systemic changes and cooperating with the new political system – in 2008, its supreme commander, the King, was dethroned and monarchy abolished. It acted strongly whenever there were moves to inject party politics into the institution. In May 2009, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ sacked Army chief Rookmangud Katawal, replacing him with a junior General. Katawal resisted the move and the then President, Ram Baran Yadav, vetoed the replacement of the General. Following the fiasco, Prachanda resigned as Prime Minister.
