Popular for All
From the King to the political parties and commoners, all have their own interpretation of democracy
By KESHAB POUDEL
A democracy is a cap in Nepal , which fits everybody’s head. From the King to the commoner and the political leaders, all of them love the word democracy. Wherever he visits, King Gyanendra expresses his commitment to democracy and democratic system.
Similarly, leaders of organized political parties also claim that their agitation is for the restoration of democracy and democratic system. Backing the cause of democracy, common people attend the meeting of both the King and political parties. Interestingly, everybody feels there is severe lacking on the other side. Persons in the government believe that they are committed to democracy and are sincerely observing its rules.
“This government is committed to democratic process,” said Home Minister Kamal Thapa. “Holding elections of municipalities is a first step towards restoring it.”
They blame opposition parties for going against democracy by boycotting the ensuing municipal elections by all means at their disposal. The opponents of the government have more forceful arguments when they say that the people are not represented in the government and, thus, the persons in the government are not accountable to the people.
“How can we participate the elections when the persons in the government do not have any accountability to the people,” said Madhav Kumar Nepal , general secretary of CPN-UML. “This election is just a part of drama.”
Contrary to the claims by rival groups, people in general are supportive to both attending the programs organized by both sides. The same mass of people welcomes the King in one program and attend the next program organized by political parties.
Government side is enthusiastic at seeing the huge presence of crowd welcoming the King Gyanendra in his visits to different parts of the country. “People are with the King. Don’t you see such a large number crowd coming from far away places to welcome him. This shows people are with the King and not the political leaders who misruled the country,” said former chief of the army staff and a member of Raj Parishad Standing Committee Satchit Sumsher Rana.
Huge attendance of crowd in public meetings also inspire leaders of organized political parties who say that people are against the monarchy. “Our recent mass meeting showed that the people are with us. People have shown their strong commitments towards democracy,” said Nepal addressing a mass meeting in Chitwan. “This agitation will not end as long as absolute democracy is restored.”
The situation confuses the political forces. “It might seem either the people are fool or too much ignorant behaving like cattle who are made to move due to some fear of punishment or hope of reward. But both these assessments would be incorrect. People are too wise and understand the basic contents of democracy. In fact, they seem to be wiser than the people for whom they come to march and chant their slogans,” said a political analyst.
People are the real bases of politics of any country. All concepts of sovereignty like right of self-determination and freedom make people the focal point. In a confusing situation of political contradictions in Nepal , the mass of the people who are actively taking part in rallies organized by the King and the political parties are the real indicators. If they are made the base, a synthesis of view will emerge, which would again remind us that the point of unity is greater than that of conflicts and disruptions.
If the people are given free chances to exercise their rights guaranteed by the constitution to choose their governance, most of the problems in Nepal could be resolved to a large extent. The context of the problem at present lies upon the full operation of the constitution again. The King has already instructed the government to complete the elections for municipal and to the parliament level within mid 2007 in whatever the circumstances may come. That has brought the political parties into the agitation again to foil the elections without any viable alternative. However, the mood of confrontation may hardly help to achieve their need.
Whether one likes it or not, the geo-strategic nature of the country has taught common Nepalese where their interest really lies. Their choice is clear as they want both the King as well as the organized political forces to safely exercise their democratic rights by protecting the sovereignty and independence of the country.
