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VOL. 27, NO. 29, March 28, 2008 (Chaitra 15 2064 B.S.)
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CA POLLS
The Puzzle
The fate of the elections will perhaps be known only at the last minute
By A CORRESPONDENT
With only two weeks left for the vote, the clouds over the much-talked about constituent assembly elections appeared to have cleared.
The seven-party agreement last Monday on stopping attacks on each other was an important initiative to ensure that the polls were not disrupted.
But such attacks have not ended. Especially the Maoist youth brigade, the YCL, continue to hit the headline with its disruptive adventures across the country.
The sudden outburst of Maoist anger over the ‘mysterious’ import of weapons for the armed police has not helped the matter, either.
There are speculations that the Maoists are looking for an excuse to avoid elections. The reason, it is said, is the fear of a drubbing in the polls.
Even liberal estimates give the Maoist not more than 15 per cent of the total votes, say some.
Maoists deny this. They claim to win. Who else than us, they challenge.
But their desperation for an alliance with the UML and the threat to stage a revolt if defeated at the hustings contradict their tall claims.
Observers suspect a Maoist plan to capture booths and intimidate voters for a better elections showing.
Such suspicion has caused alarm bells not only at home but across the border as well.
The communist-wary international community wants to bring the Maoists to their size through the vote.
To them, skipping the vote would be a better alternative than to let the Maoists storm into power by hook or by crook.
With only two weeks left for the vote, time is running out for both national actors as well as international observers.
A third deferral of the elections does not look likely at this point of time.
But nobody is ruling it out even now. This is quite puzzling.
The answer to this puzzle will have to be found not in Kathmandu, but in capitals where the fate of ‘the sovereign’ people of Nepal is decided.
NC DISSIDENTS SPEAK
Voice of Conscience
Twenty NC dissidents urge party leadership to follow middle path
At a time when almost all Nepali Congress leaders have bowed down to the party's leadership decision to give up its ideology, some two dozen senior Congress leaders under the leadership of former speaker Taranath Ranabhat have shown guts to challenge the party's decision.
Although their statements are not going to make any difference in the on going party politics, they have shown the guts to speak against their party leadership. This will place them in different position in the history of Nepali Congress.
In their statement, the NC dissident leaders appealed to all political parties and public and the would be members of the constituent assembly to take initiatives to save the country from political extremism and protect national sovereignty, integrity, freedom and unity.
A press appeal, signed by 20 leaders including Taranath Ranabhat, Bipin Koirala, Shiba Bahadur Khadka, Marshal Julum Shakya, Omkar Shrestha, Dinbandhu Aryal and Harnedra Bahadur Shrestha, Akbar Bahadur Singh, Sudristi Lal Das, Dirgahraj Kafle, Indira Koirala, Hari Lal Joshi, Keshab Prasad Bhattarai, Krishna Kumar Joshi, Narayan Prasad Koirala, Anar Singh Karki, Shila Panta, Bishnu Bahadur Shahi, Laxmi Prasad Koirrala and Indra Prasad Panta asked the people to save the nation from being divided into many federal states.
The decision to divide the country into many states would spoil national unity and invite new form being divided into many federal states the statement said. A handful of leaders from a few political parties are imposing their decision on the people without gathering people's mandate on crucial national issues like constitutional monarchy, republic, unitary state, federal state, Hindu state or secular, the statement said.
The leaders have urged the public to support the late leader B.P Koirala's middle path ideology and NC leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai's stance on the middle path. They however, not elaborated their future path.
This statement came when some sources close to Prime Minister declared that the country will be heading towards federal republic after the CA polls. Sources said high officials of Nepal’s southern neighbors backed Prime minister Koirala to go for poll and make the constitution as promised by his party’s manifesto.
“The elections will held and the country will have new political order after the elections,” said Koirala in his resident addressing the journalist. “What Congress said is final,” said Koirala indicating his party’s change tune.
