“They Threw Away The Innocent Child From The Bath Tub And Kept The Dirty Water”
Motikaji Sthapit
Senior advocate and eminent constitutional lawyer MOTIKAJI STHAPIT has long experiences in legal profession. He served as an attorney general to advise the government on the implementation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990. He represented the government in several landmark cases of the Supreme Court. As a private lawyer also, he had same enthusiastic spirit to assist the court to reach to decisions. Eighty-years-old Sthapit, who even now occasionally appears in the court, expressed anguish over the way the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990 was thrown away. Sthapit briefly spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on various issues of constitution at his residence in Bafal. Excerpts:
How do you see the role of constitution in framing the country's governance?
Constitution is an innocent infant. It will all depend on how constitutional functionaries or power wielders nurture it. If these persons fail in their task of promoting the health of the child to nurture, they themselves are responsible for failure of the system but it is not the constitution.
Who is to blame for?
If those persons who were given the task of working upon the constitution failed, it is not constitution to be blamed at all.
What is your impression about the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990?
The constitution was acclaimed as one of the most democratic constitutions of the world. The changes that present people are thinking of bringing about in the field of political, economical, cultural, linguistics, educational, regional and etc were possible under that constitution by making laws and amending the constitution, if necessary. There were no barriers in bringing about all those changes
How do you feel the demise of constitution under which you once worked as attorney general?
I wonder why this constitution was scraped. What people's interest could not have been served only if the people in power were honest and sincere in implementing the constitution?
How do you observe the democratic experiments in Nepal ?
From the beginning of ushering of democracy in 1951, all democratic values, norms and institutions such as a rule of law, personal liberty, and independence of judiciary, human rights, natural justice, check and balance in the exercise of state powers were evolved. All those values –which we have evolved slowly but steadily - were destroyed. That is the most tragic part of the present event.
Why you feel such anguish over the demise of constitution?
The Constitution was not a barrier to promote and foster democratic process. I was emotionally attached because of my assignments as an attorney general for about six years. I pleaded in several landmark constitutional cases in the Supreme Court representing the government. Because of this emotional attachment, I feel such anguish.
How do you explain the present situation?
They threw away the innocent child from the bath tub and kept the dirty water. The correct way was to throw away dirty water and keep the baby alive.
