Government’s Priorities Great Expectations

By Prem N. Kakkar

THERE is great expectation from the new Nepali Congress government headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in the face of the numerous challenges that exist.

Faith
Mr. Koirala was sworn in as the Prime Minister on March 22 of this year. In fact, the May 1999 polls last year gave a majority Nepali Congress party a clear mandate to form the government thereby ending the over four years of political instability. The people’s faith in the Nepali Congress to lead the country on the path of prosperity can be justified by the fact that NC has been for over the decades a fighting force championing the cause of democracy.

The struggle that NC had waged for the reinstatement of democracy in the country needs no elaboration. Be it the struggle of 2007 B.S. or that of 2046 B.S., the Nepali Congress has been at the forefront.

It has been ten years since the three decade old Panchayat regime was made defunct and democracy introduced in the country. It is understandable that with the reinstatement of democracy people’s aspirations rose considerably but circumstances forced many a changes at the helm of state affairs.

Being a party devoted to democratic ideals and norms, the NC won a comfortable majority in the first general elections and formed the government under Mr. Koirala. But after that the situation in the political arena was not very conducive for meeting the aspirations of the people because of the frequent changes in government. This led to much political instability and thereby hindering with the development endeavours of the country.

The vested interests were at play and the development aspect was given the back seat. This greatly hampered with the targets set. The horse trading and the number game came into play and the political leaders were rather unaware of the needs of the people. The focus on power grabbing became intense and it led to frustration among the people as to the gains that should have been made under a democratic set up.

To be in power is secondary to meeting the aspirations of the people. But the general election of May 1999 proved a turning point once again for the country. The Nepali Congress party by gaining a majority proved many skeptics wrong that no party would win a majority and that a hung parliament would be the order of the day.

By winning a majority, hopes were raised on the Nepali Congress government to do the needful so that the living standard of the people would be raised and the various challenges facing the country would be resolved.

A number of assuring gestures of the government led by Krishna Prasad Bhattarai made the people heave a sigh of relief that the economy of the country would go in the right direction. Top most priority was given for poverty alleviation measures and tackling the Maoist insurgency problem.

Prime Minister Koirala now has a host of problems to solve before him. The majority that the ruling party has gives enough room for resolving the burning problems at hand. Foremost among them is maintaining law and order. In fact. Prime Minister Koirala himself has accorded this as the major priority issue. This stems from the fact that the Maoists have created a severe problem in many districts of the country. Unless violence perpetrated is ended the development activities in the Maoist affected areas cannot go ahead in full steam.

The high level team headed by former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is active in bringing about consensus among all the political parties for ending the spate of violence unleashed by the so called Maoists. Prime Minister. Koirala has also made it clear that the door for peace talks is always open but the fact remains that the terrorists must give up arms before sitting for dialogue. This is the right vein in which he has expressed as what is to be done.

Violence for violence’s sake can never augur well for the country. With over 1000 people killed since the Maoists started their campaign, it has been a costly and devastating game. The Maoists too must realise that violence cannot bring the desired result. The stepping up of violent activities after Prime Minister. Koirala assumed the mantle of the Prime Minister suggests that the Maoists do not want to join the mainstream as is desired.

Before the new government has set down to business, the main Opposition Party too has gone full steam ahead with various forms of protest programmes including the recently concluded Nepal Bandh. Herein, it must be realised that bandhs alone cannot solve the problems that lie in front. It is a sense of mutual understanding and cooperation that alone will be able to deal with the problems and arrive at acceptable solutions. The urgency to come up with bandhs is uncalled for.

Similarly the stalling of the Lower House meeting in the past few days is uncalled for. By disrupting the House meets nothing can be gained but may lead to greater chaos. In fact, the government must be allowed to work according to the objective of maintaining law and order. By bringing in a state of anarchy and confusion the interests of the people will not be solved.

Prime Minister Koirala has come in at a crucial phase and it is his experience and major judgement that should be able to bring the country out of the mire that it is bogged down in. But one man alone cannot do everything, the cooperation and understanding of all is essential. Instead of making things easier for the government, the opposition is making it all the more difficult for the government to function smoothly which is very necessary for the development activities in the country to pick up pace.

Awareness
All the political parties must be aware of the fact that peace that is an end of violence is essential if the country is to prosper. In this direction, the government must be given all possible help in its endeavour to root out poverty as well as bring an end to violent activities.

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