Civil service reform

By KRISHNA GYAWALI

Rumours have again cropped up as to the amendment of the Civil Service Act and Regulation. Opinion articles have appeared in newspapers for and against some of the provisions supposedly incorporated in the draft amendment. With a few exceptions of the comments that chose to remain gray, the views expressed were found against a series of ‘regressive rumors’, especially those related to removing the provisions of open or lateral as well as internal competitive entry into the higher echelons of the civil service.

Timing: Given the ‘transitional’ nature of the incumbent government, whether it is the right time now to embark on a highly sensitive and debatable policy reform agenda of the civil service is a matter of serious discussion. Some may argue that the current dispensation carries full constitutional legitimacy to introduce any such reforms. In support of the argument, they may refer to one of the five Royal directives issued to the present cabinet, which reads as ‘ensure good governance in the country by enforcing corruption control and governance reform measures’. Others may also contend that reforms, by nature, need no timing, as they are part of a continuous process of improvement. Similarly, some could even go extreme suggesting that ‘big decisions can only be made when there is no parliament, as it merely delays the matter by creating unnecessary political fuss’. These assertions, no matter how seemingly convincing, are ultimately wrong for a couple of reasons.

First, reforms at policy level with long-term implications for the state and its citizens are to be enforced only upon their approval by the parliament. Without being enacted by the parliament, any such policy reforms launched at the sole discretion of the executive are stripped of popular legitimacy. Second, despite the fact that reforms are ongoing initiatives needing no astrologers to tell when to launch them, reforms of lasting and broader implications should invariably pass through the first legitimate channel and process, i.e. through parliament. In other words, democracy demands that ordinances should never be taken for granted in substituting bills. Misuse of side door when the main door is closed is against the norms and the principle of rule of law. Lastly, there are no shortcuts in democracy to make and break laws. It is both the beauty and the cost of having adopted a democratic system that policy decisions are made not in haste and discretion but upon serious deliberations, recognizing duly the value of process rationality.

Whimsical: Reforms should come out of professional rather than whimsical reasons. But this has not often been the case with Nepal’s civil service. There is no established system of logical and professional interactions among the main stakeholders, in this case, the civil servants themselves. Similarly, people in general have no opportunity of opining fruitfully as to what kind of civil service system they would like to see in the country. No opinion surveys are conducted, nor are any productive discussions organised in public forums, at least on behalf of the government. Whatever professional platforms we have, PAAN (Public Administration Association of Nepal) and CAMAD (Center for Administration, Management and Development) for example, are also not adequately active and productive for their own reasons, including the predominance of policy level civil servants in such forums who dare not go openly against the government policy agenda. The civil service reform constituencies, therefore, are institutionally weak and professionally paralyzed. The result is that whims or personal discretion of a ‘nexus of political masters and bureaucratic servants’ rather than the politically neutral, objective and rational policy deliberations dictate the reform agenda.

Be progressive: The existing Civil Service Act and Regulation enacted after the restoration of democracy in 1990 made a progressive provision for open, lateral entry into the posts of Under Secretary and Joint Secretary. Though at a small proportion of 10 percent of the total vacancies, it opened a vista of opportunities for the best available brains in the non-civil service job market, notably the organized public sector. It was a different story, though, that this admirably ‘radical’ provision could not attract any new blood or brains from outside the civil service. That was probably because of the structural or behavioral inadequacies deeply ingrained in our social system and its civil service sub-system. Today’s young university graduates find civil service utterly unattractive and unappealing in terms of salary, benefits and opportunities. They also dislike it for its "lack of professional freedom" and "unnecessarily binding, conventional and anti-modern character". This is partly testified by the fact that very few civil servants today, unless they have no other choice, would ever dream of seeing their children follow their footsteps in career. But does that mean that the civil service should shut its door for the best candidates in the private or semi-private job market? Instead of finding fault in our handling the provision to its true spirit, we seem determined to its removal for good. Aren’t we thus becoming fools by trying to throw the baby with bathwater?

At a time when competence through competition should have been the mantra of civil service reform, we are preoccupied with the old-fashioned, irrelevant and unproductive promotion criteria of seniority or experience (measured by the length of service, not by experience testing through objective measures), remote area service (of no real value due to seniority ceiling), repeatedly counted grades of academic degrees, and largely ill-applied, erroneous, subjective, non-transparent and prone-to-misuse "performance rating". There is no dispute that competence can also be measured through this rating system, but only if it is reformed to its best. Compared to the competitive examination system, however, it is still more likely to be influenced by subjective reasoning of both evaluators and evaluees.

Ability testing can therefore be highly ensured by competitive selection, both open and in-house. There is no single evidence of a failed civil servant, in terms of performance and leadership, who passed through this selection system. Self-esteem, self-confidence, positive outlook, dynamism and studiousness are some of the enviable attributes of civil servants of this category. Now it is being felt that even the candidates for the posts of secretary and the chief secretary should also testify their competence through some objectively verifiable professional parameters. Some kind of Leadership Assessment Center could be instrumental in developing such criteria.

Looking ahead: Reform proponents need to be objective, optimistic and positive rather than overly critical on the situation around. A realistic and merit-based assessment of the past failures and successes is required to move ahead. We have to build on what we achieved so far, and our last achievement should be our first point of departure. Avoiding sweeping generalizations, irresponsible criticism and ambitious expectations is highly essential to launch progressive reforms. A reformer should always be specific while pointing out faults in others. Suggesting remedies would surely help, but only if they are specific and practical.

On the road

By RAJNI KC

With the title one would surely think I am writing about a 5-something hour road trip that I must’ve undertaken and the experiences I went through. But do you think you need to travel a distance of approximately 200-km to spend five hours in the vehicle? If you know what I mean then the answer is "No". This thought of mine is ascribed to every vehicle that plies on the streets, among which my vehicle too makes its personal contribution to increase the traffic and struggles to find place in just about every piece of land where its four wheels can be accommodated.

Of course, it’s not just the traffic that takes all the credit. A must mention would be the traffic lights which remain an enigma to me even months after its installation. Each time I think I have understood its significance I am in for a surprise because my other road friends who too are in their individual expedition stop their vehicle when, according to me, they need not. I look at him and he looks at me to confirm that "our" joint unspoken decision is correct. "Let’s verify it", I say to myself. The cop on duty walks towards us and......Nothing.........he walks back. As per my understanding the "synergy" effect seemed to do the trick so he was "ok" with us stopping the vehicle. Hence, on most occasions while I am 99.99 percent confident that I need not stop I join the bandwagon cause voicing out my action by changing the gear may ultimately lead me to switch off the engine all together.

Now - The Pedestrians. Few years’ back when the "Flyovers" were being constructed I expressed gratitude to the workers who were busy constructing the same each time I passed the site. In fact I am certain every pedestrian must’ve done the same and was pleased to learn that someone cared. Then why don’t some ignorant citizens make use of it is a multi million question, the answer of which is sought by every driver and which the culprit can only answer. If I had the power to predict things I would unravel the mystery by waiting for the culprit to cross the streets right below the "flyover". Then...click click, (Yes, I would carry a camera) give the picture to the press and make sure they were featured on the front page with the title "NEPAL’S MOST WANTED" and thereafter castigated.

Till date the memory of a sweet couple is fresh on my mind that I entertained few weeks back and who within minutes no longer remained sweet to me. It was one of those rare moments. As far as my eyes could see there were no obstructions and I sped up the car when the Titanic look-a-like scene took place. The young lady flashed a megawatt smile to her partner while a cascade of her black hair fell over her shoulders and they were in a kaleidoscope of emotion. Mentioning that they behaved like they were in "Ratnapark" would be cliche so I request you to do the honor.

Screaming, yelling and cursing is common on the streets. If you have keenly observed then a four-wheeler driver would curse the two-wheeler one for not complying with the driving ethics and vice versa - both forgetting that sometime in the past they drove or would be driving the vehicle that they are accusing. Therefore you can see that your camaraderie on the streets is solely dependent on the number of wheels that your transportation has.

While there are several other occasions (remember Thamel festival) that created havoc on the streets, I wish to conclude without going further as I seem to be getting all nostalgic about the stare I gave to a blue Santro driver this morning or an action-packed bang a tempo gave to a van.

Addressing workplace gender issues

By NARAYAN MANANDHAR

As more and more women enter the job market, gender issues at work-place become a hot topic for debate and discussion amongst the employers, the trade unions and the government at large. Both demand and supply conditions for female employment opportunities are on the rise. On the demand side, as more and more jobs are converting into service jobs, women come into the picture. It is said that in the US, of all jobs, only 4 percent requires human, physical endurance or muscle power; all jobs are turning into a kind of sedentary jobs requiring less physical efforts. The arrival of globalization has been a kind of boon to the female workforce. One can now have flexitime, flexispace and even flexipay system. With flexible jobs women can balance their family and work. Similarly, on the supply front, different factors like increased literacy rate of women, availability of contraceptives to plan and control childbirth, and increased acceptance of women outside home all have contributed to the increased flow of women into the labour market. Moreover, very few women like to forgo the experience of having an increased freedom that comes from joining paid employment.

However, when women join the workforce they carry with them three distinct problems/constraints. First, they are women meaning, biologically they are different from men. Attaining motherhood is their basic right. Therefore, protection of maternity is an inherent right of the women. No employers can deny the women’s right to give birth. Second, they are workers. And they have to compete with other co-workers, who are predominantly males. When organisational systems and structures are designed to suit ‘the men’s world’, women have a disadvantage. Third, compared to men, women have more family responsibilities often termed as ‘second shift’ (the first shift being workplace). Due to a simultaneous operation of these three constraints, women are often left behind in their career. The jobs occupied by women are often of low status, paying low wages. They are bereft of training and promotional opportunities. Due to the operation of "the glass ceiling", they are found less in decision-making positions. They are confined to so-called "women jobs". Because of household responsibilities, they have difficulty in managing their time, and therefore, the stress level.

Women’s rights often clash with the commercial interests of the business firm. Take the case of airline business. The service character of the job demands specific age bar for the airhostesses. This commercial interest may come in direct confrontation with their job security needs. The government has banned women from taking jobs in the Gulf countries. The women protection policy has indeed backfired. Those opting for overseas employment are taking a more vulnerable course. Conscious choice has to be made between women’s need for protection and the promotion of equality. Positive discrimination or affirmative actions can be called for to promote women’s rights and interests, but such actions should be of terminal, otherwise, such actions lose effectiveness. Similarly, from the employers’ perspective, actions designed to promote women’s employment opportunities need to be appraised in terms of choice or compliance. The compliance calls for designing rules and their enforcement. Choice, on the other hand, is very much voluntary. One needs to remember that rules can be designed only for extracting a minimum level of performance. Too much reliance on compliance strategy may lead business company to come up with cover-up methods, lip-service or tokenism that may relegate gender issues to the back stage agenda. Recently, in a jute mill, women workers were recruited even in non-traditional jobs like machine operators, but the management has cleverly raised the age bar to avoid maternity leaves. The management can always find loopholes to avoid compliance strategy.

The management practices have increasingly come to realization that if you want to have a productive workforce, you must attend to the needs of the workers, no matter whether they are men or women. From management’s perspective it is good to have workforce diversity, meaning, both men and women working together than to have a highly segregated jobs. Presenting a survey on women at workplace, The Economist (July 18, 1998) argues "women make up about half of mankind; since the raw material of intelligence, energy and other qualities that make people perform well in jobs is unevenly distributed between sexes; moreover, women in rich countries are now generally as well educated as men, so are able to offer similar qualifications. If you are recruiting only men, you are therefore, narrowing your choice to only half the brightest and best people." Moreover, people prefer to work for a good company. Even to attract and retain bright people, the company must address the needs of its workforce. Family life does interfere with job and vice versa. Caught between work and family conflicts, it is the work that interferes more with the family.

The three actors of industrial relations—the employer, the trade union and the government—have their own role to play in balancing a family-work conflict. First, the government can, using different policy options like tax, social security system, design incentives for men and women to come to work and at the same time fulfill their family responsibilities. The government has come under increased criticism, particularly, in industrialized economies, for taking care of parental responsibilities like running nursing homes and providing child care facilities. It is better for the economy to have more women in the workforce as it also reduces tax rates. Much of the services related to the family like schools, childcare, health facility etc. can be provided by the trade unions as well. Employers have been traditionally asked to take primary responsibility. This is what puts them in a defensive position. However, as said above, employers are slowly realizing the importance of having an equal opportunity policy or developing a family-friendly policy where men and women alike can balance the competing needs of family and work. It is easy to figure out the costs and benefits of machine or equipment. But it is relatively difficult to measure the productivity from having a family-friendly policy that allows workers to stay home to take care of their sick children or the elderly. But this difficulty should not discourage employers from adopting one.

Spreading Maoist tentacles

PURAN P BISTA

It was in October 2002 when I met the state president of the cultural wing of the Bharatiya Nepali Ekta Samaj (BNES) in Kohima at the Nepali students’ golden jubilee celebration. At that time Delhi had not banned BNES. The state president, who hailed from lower caste Hindu, spoke in a typical Nepali accent of western and mid western regions. I asked him: "Are you from western Nepal?" He replied "Yes". There are over five thousand Nepalese people from Nepal’s western regions working in India’s Nagaland state. Some of them, who have converted themselves into Christianity, are closer to native Nagas than the local Nepalese since cent percent of the native Nagas are Christians. Moreover, the Nepali Baptist Church, which was set up with the support of Naga Church Federation, holds sermons in Nepali language.

The dark and medium height BNES state president said that the Assam state police at Sri Rampur harassed the Nepalese travelers while returning from Nepal. He narrated an incident of a Nepali, who was a Nagaland state police personnel but dragged out of the bus he was travelling in by the Assam state police in 1997. According to him, the victim neither returned to Nepal, nor did he report to the Nagaland state police force. Later, BNES with the help of the Nepalese of Guwahati filed a case at the Guwahati High Court against the Assam state police force. But the police personnel could not be traced after the incident.

However, the incident the BNES state president suspiciously narrated to me proved otherwise. Kohima’s local Nepalese said BNES filed the case in the Guwahati High Court in order to prove the death of the police personnel since it knew that without any evidence the state government would not release the pension as well as the money the victim was supposed to get.

What could be true was the police personnel must have been killed in Nepal itself, possibly in an encounter with the Royal Nepal Army. If BNES has a cultural wing in Nagaland, then one cannot deny the fact that the Maoists have ties with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). And both Maoists and NSCN carry the same ideology. NSCN is a communist extremist group fighting since the late 1960s for a sovereign communist Nagaland. And it is the mother of all extremist groups in northeast India. They have trained United Liberation Front of Assam, People’s Liberation Army of Manipur and other extremist groups in Tripura and Meghalaya states. Besides People’s War Group of Andhra Pradesh and the Maoist Coordination Committee as mentioned by India’s ambassador to Nepal Shyam Sharan, the Maoists do have relations with the ruthless NSCN, perhaps with both Khaplang’s and Issac-Moiva’s.

BB Chhetri last October said to me: "The people backing the Maoists are none other than the Nepalese people who have come to India in search of unskilled jobs. And most of them work as night security guards, guards in apartments, scraps and industries in different parts of India. If you visit Kerala, you can find them there, and that they have come to India due to poverty is an obvious reason". Chhetri is a former editor of Nepali vernacular daily called Sunchari published from Siliguri.

Chhetri is also an active member of Bharatiya Nepali Rashtriya Parishad. Former chief minister of Sikkim Nar Bahadur Bhandari is its current president. Chhetri has traveled India extensively. And he still meets the Nepalese people living in different parts of India. It is also a fact that the Nepalese people from Nepal’s western regions have controlled the total milk market of northeast India. And I have not yet come across a night security guard other than the Nepalese, especially those who are from Nepal’s western regions. Wherever they are the organization formed by this community is well organised and have a solid backing of the lower class Nepalese working in different parts of India. Badra Nath Pradhan, a former CPM parliamentarian of Rajya Sabha often presided over BNES meetings and R B Rai who was also a CPM parliamentarian attended such meetings.

Chhetri spoke to me at length a day after the formation of the Siliguri-based Nepalese National Democratic Front of India (NNDF) which, he claimed, is an offshoot of BNES. Delhi banned BNES after POTA, so the local BNES activists, who were supporting the Maoists in Jalpaiguri and Siliguri, were looking for an alternative organisation in order to support the Maoist cause openly. Now the newly formed Siliguri-based NNDF claims that it does not have any members who have come from Nepal.

The Maoists are active in Duars that borders Nepal. People working in tea estates are the ones who support them. In fact the members, either we call them, of BNES or newly formed NNDF, are the same leaders emerged out of tea estates. They have basically come from Nepal’s western regions and some of them have lived there for decades and speak the local language fluently.

The total population of the unskilled Nepalese laborers who hail from western regions working in India’s different cities and towns is more than one million, according to Chhetri. There are one hundred thousand in Bombay alone. Pune has over thirty five thousand of such population. If the Maoist movement is really backed by this section of Nepalese, then the government must think twice before it really deploys the Belgian manufactured Minimis or US made M-15s against the Maoists. There will obviously be short term improvement of the situation but not the solution unless the handpicked government realizes the core problems and initiates radical measures in order to reform the Panchayat-groomed system.

An escalation of human rights abuses

Maoist abuses

Deliberate killings of civilians considered to be "enemies of the revolution" has been a prominent feature of the "people’s war". Teachers and politicians have been among those most frequently targeted. Around July 2002 the Maoists stepped up attacks on members of mainstream political parties after elections were announced for November 2002. Members of the Nepali Congress party (NC) were most often targeted for deliberate and unlawful killings, but there were increasing attacks on members of the Communist Party of Nepal- United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). Three NC members were killed by 40 to 50 Maoists in Ramshikhar Jhala and Pahalmanpur villages in Kailali District on 3 September 2002. Jagat Bahadur Shaha, President of the NC’s village committee, and two men from Pahalmanpur village, Ram Prasad Subedi and Shobhakar Sharma, were all beheaded.

In another incident, around 300 Maoists dragged all male villagers above age 15 from their homes at Sumshergunj, Banke district on 9 July 2002. Approximately 25 people were taken to the well, beaten with clubs, rifle butts and spears and accused of handing over two Maoists to the police who earlier that day had attacked one of the villagers. Two men, Moti Lal Tamauli and Sohan Yadav Ahil, died on the spot. Several others were severely wounded.

Among those deliberately killed by the Maoists are also people who did not obey orders given to them by the Maoists. Mahendra Bhakta Oli, a 31-year-old shopkeeper, was shot dead during the night of 31 July 2002. According to one source, the Maoists had ordered him several times to stop selling bheli (raw material used to make wine) and had previously burned his provisions. Another source alleged that he may have been killed on suspicion of providing information to the security forces.

Nawaraj Sharma, editor of a weekly newspaper, Karnali Sandesh, was abducted from his home in Kalikot district on 1 June 2002. His badly mutilated body was found on 13 August 2002.

The Maoists also tortured captives, took hostages and linked their release to certain demands, and recruited children into their ranks. They were also responsible for the summary execution of members of the security forces taken captive during attacks, particularly on police stations.

Recruitment of children by the Maoists has been reported on a regular basis. Amnesty International was informed that in the areas under its control, the CPN (Maoist) exercise a recruitment policy of "one family, one member". Children, including girls, are deployed in combat situations, often to help provide ammunition or assist with evacuating or caring for the wounded. One 16-year-old boy from Dang district reported how in May 2002 he was forced to assist with carrying wounded Maoist combatants to India for treatment and how he and six others of the same age managed to run away while travelling back to Nepal. He also explained how after his return to his village the security forces suspected him of being a member of the CPN (Maoist), as a result of which he has moved to a nearby town.

Amnesty International also obtained evidence of how children were trained in the use of arms. One 14-year-old girl explained how arms training took place during the night by torch light and how during the day, she and other children attended classes.

Impunity

Impunity in Nepal is an entrenched political culture dating back to the period before the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990. In Amnesty International’s view, it is the single most destructive factor affecting the human rights situation. Members of the security forces feel entirely shielded from outside scrutiny for their actions. The heaviest sanction they face is an internal inquiry.

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in the report on her visit to Nepal in February 2000, summed the problem up as follows:

"Elements within the police force appear to still operate using methods which belong to the political culture of the past, in which human rights abuses were widespread and carried out with impunity. The Government is making efforts to rid the law enforcement agencies of this legacy by increased human rights and professional training. The Special Rapporteur is, nevertheless, concerned that the measures taken by the authorities to investigate and prosecute police officers accused of human rights abuses remain seriously wanting, and that the mechanisms and avenues of redress open to victims and their families are weak and inadequate. In this way, the criminal legal system extends impunity for serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, which in turn perpetuates the vicious circle of violence. The Government needs to take prompt and effective action to curb this emerging trend."

Internal police or army investigations into complaints of human rights violations lack credibility. Under pressure from the international community, in July 2002 the army set up a Human Rights Cell. When Amnesty International met with the Commander of the Armed Services in September 2002, it was informed that the Human Rights Cell was investigating between six and ten cases. Internal disciplinary action had been taken against army personnel responsible for the torture of the three people employed by the German development organization, GTZ. However, up to that point, no courts martial or criminal trials had been initiated.

Despite credible evidence that Krishna Sen, editor of Janadesh, a weekly newspaper known to be close to the CPN (Maoist), was arrested on 20 May 2002, the authorities continue to deny he was in their custody. Amnesty International received information that Krishna Sen was beaten at the Mahendra Police Club in Kathmandu by an apparently drunken Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikram Singh Thapa, in the evening of 27 May 2002 and that he subsequently died. There were also reports that his dead body was taken to the Birendra police hospital at Maharajgunj; but it is unclear what happened to it after that. Under pressure from the media, the then government ordered an internal inquiry chaired by a Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to its report, the inquiry committee concluded that it had no "evidential basis that would enable it to reach any firm conclusions in respect of whether Krishna Sen is dead, is imprisoned, or in some other place". The Committee based that conclusion largely on the fact that police records contained no record of the arrest of Krishna Sen. It also criticized the lack of an effective system for identification of bodies subjected to autopsies.

According to a report in the Kathmandu Post of 18 October 2002, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bikram Singh Thapa, deployed in Kathmandu was awarded the "Policeman of the Year" award. Amnesty International on 6 November 2002 requested the Inspector General of Police to withdraw the award from the officer concerned, at least until an impartial and independent investigation into the reported death in custody of Krishna Sen has been held.

Especially since November 2001, the courts in Nepal have failed to take up the challenge to uphold human rights protection enshrined in the Constitution. This is most clearly illustrated by the way in which the remedy of habeas corpus remains largely ineffective, not only in relation to "disappearances" but for those detained under the TADA. For example, the relatives of Tulasi Amgain who was arrested on 25 November 2001 filed a habeas corpus petition before the Supreme Court on 6 March 2002. The initial hearing took place on 12 April 2002. Since then, the case has been kept pending together with 11 other petitions. Amnesty International is concerned that the indecisiveness shown by the highest court in the country will contribute to the erosion of faith in the justice system already apparent at lower levels.

(Based on Amnesty International’s Country Report, 2002)

Concluded

‘A more influential role doesn’t mean a role outside the constitution’

With your becoming the chairman of the RPP, what major changes do you expect to bring within the party?

Well, the first thing I mean to do with the party is to make it functioning and institutional. There are various committees and bodies and they should be allowed to function fully according to the constitution of the party. There used to be an individualistic decision-making process, without going through proper organs. I will try to minimize that kind of things and maximize the institutionalized functioning of the party.

The second thing would be to make the decision making process as democratic and participative as possible. Once a decision is taken the implementation of the decision must be highly disciplinary. And we must follow up to see that every unit of the party even the ward unit carries out the programme decided by the central committee.

Has that not been happening until now?

Well, it has just been thirteen years since we started functioning and we have had a lot of difficulties. In 1991 we spent 48 hours trying to bring out one party. But we came out as two parties. And apparently after we won three seats in the parliament on one side and one seat on the other so we decided to join up. And then the party that came together won 20 seats in the second election but broke up again. Finally we have come together again. With all these difficulties, party splitting and coming together, these processes have not been very good for the institution building process. A lot of individual compromises had to be made when these changes took place. So it was not unnatural in these unusual circumstances for the institutional functioning of the party not to emerge.

Now we want to make it function that way. Secondly the main thrust on my part would be to make this a really lean and mean election fighting machine.

Is winning elections so important that you are saying time and again that you want to make your party an election fighting machine?

Well, you know the one who loses the elections cannot be a very successful party. The final measure of a party is the ability to win elections. In a democratic system that’s the acid test. If you don’t have a majority you can’t run the country.

Do you expect a majority for RPP in present situation?

You see the major Democratic Party until now was the Nepali congress. The kind of people we appeal to and the Nepali Congress appeals to vote is slightly different but not very different. The Congress split into two and they have become very unpopular because it is seen as a party responsible for the majority of failure in the last 12 years. Now this unpopularity leaves a vacant space in the democratic spectrum. We had until now talked of ourselves as an alternative Democratic Party but now we aim to be the main Democratic Party. The vacant space left by the Nepali Congress party is the space we aim to occupy now.

Don’t you think that the space you are talking about is created with the emergence of Maoists who have sidelined all major democratic parties?

Well, in the present situation, in many districts of Nepal what you say is correct. But you know the people who would vote for us want peace to be established. It is not the same constituency as the Maoists’. The Maoists’ constituency is similar to the UML constituency. If the Maoists come into the mainstream the vote they will cut will be those of the UML but our competition is with the Congress. The UML’s competition is with the Maoists. So in that scenario when the Maoists come into the mainstream and cut the UML vote and the Congress is unpopular, I think there is room to replace the Nepali Congress.

What will happen to the RPP’s erstwhile alliance with the five parties after your heading the party?

Our major objective at this juncture is to use our proximity to the other parties to bring them to realize that this deadlock between them and the monarchy is not conducive to the future of the country.

You are with the king and at the same time you are with the political parties. Doesn’t this sound double standard of morality?

I don’t think it is double standard at all. On the contrary this is one thing critically needed at the moment. The major problem of the country is to reestablish peace. And I think you would agree with me that all of us want this.

Then Nepali people want peace. For them to have peace you need to have talks. To have talks the establishment has to come together. This is the logical sequence.

As long as the Maoists succeed in keeping the establishment divided they don’t need to talk to us. It is only when the establishment comes together that the Maoists will feel the need to talk to us.

Now given that the establishment has to be brought together, it is the natural role for a party like RPP, which has a complete commitment to the multiparty system, knows every leaders of the parties who were in the parliament and have good friendship and good communication with them.

On the other hand because of our history and the fact that our leader is the prime minister now we are in a very good communication with the palace. So we use this position to break the deadlock and to create what the Nepali people want.

What is your response to someone who calls you a pro monarch?

I am above all for the multiparty democracy. I will not compromise with the values of the multi party democracy. But I do not see my commitment to multiparty democracy as being contradictory to my support to constitutional monarchy.

Do you foresee any imminent change in the political scenario in the near future?

I think the first objective is to break the deadlock and then we can speculate on which direction we will go. If we don’t break the deadlock there is no point whatever change we make, we will not bring the Maoists to the table.

You have spoken about an effective role of the monarchy in troubled times. What’s that?

Actually this decision was made by the party central committee about four months back when Surya Bahadur Thapa was the chairman of the committee. Our political paper, the resolution passed at our third convention has said that in times of crisis the king needs to pay (I don’t think ‘effective’ is the exact translation of Prabhavkari) a more influential role. In that same political paper it has been stated that a more influential role of the monarch doesn’t mean a role outside the constitution. So we are still talking about constitutional monarchy.

Do you want to define the influential role of the king in some way or by making statutory changes?

No. Absolutely not.

What will be your role to resolve the present deadlock?

I think the process has started. His majesty met Mr G P Koirala and MrMadhav Nepal. It implies that communication is taking place between the three concerned sides. I have met Mr Nepal recently and I hope to meet Mr Koirala soon and naturally I have met the prime minister several times. I have a feeling that people are beginning to realize that this deadlock cannot be allowed to go on. This must be broken.

The UML is saying that an all party government should form under their leadership, the Congress wants the revival of parliament, Deuba wants revival of his government. Where do you stand?

It is plain common sense at this juncture, if you ask every ordinary Nepali what they think. The public would not understand why these differences are taking place.

You agree that people of Nepal want peace and peace is not possible without the forces within the constitution coming together. If the people of Nepal want all the forces come together then what are the parties doing whose business is to represent the opinion of the people. That’s what it means to say sovereignty lies with the people. So I am sure that all these democratic parties will in the end abide by the will of the sovereign people.

How do you expect to take ahead your party which is said to be on the verge of split?

The RPP is in nowhere near a split. My two colleagues competed with me temporarily for the elections. In a party democracy this is a good exercise. I have never said even one word against them during this whole competition. I have requested them to join the central committee. I have every intention of taking them into my confidence in any major decision that I make regarding the party.