FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE same types of events have unfolded in the House that made the 19th session come to an inconclusive end or rather it ended without doing any business. The Bill session that it was dubbed did not see any Bills being presented just because of the simple fact that the main Opposition party Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) did not allow the House to go ahead with the proceedings. Their main demand was the resignation of the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Whether their demand by not letting the House go ahead with its normal functions was justified is there for everyone to understand.

Unfortunate

The task of holding the House of "ransom" until their demands were fulfilled is hard to understand and there had been much criticism about it at that time. Yet the House seemingly ran for almost 57 days with a lot of sloganeering and surrounding of the well. It was, unfortunate, that the many important Bills remained pending just because the proceedings could not move ahead as per schedule.

The later events are there before us to analyse. The abduction of about 69 police personnel in Rolpa by the Maoists, the deployment of the army and the resignation of Koirala gave a unique twist to the sequence of events. The appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba to the highest executive post suddenly set the ball rolling. He announced the cessation of all actions against the Maoists and called on the Maoists to come out for talks by ending their spree of violence.

So far it was a well-designed and welcome move. But the announcement of the various measures to spruce up the socio-economic scenario, howsoever welcome it was did not find everyone subscribing to it in the full. The main opposition party which had been at the forefront of "stall the House proceedings" in the last parliamentary session suddenly went docile. The reasons are not clear as to why they are so quiet these days. May be they have some more tricks up their sleeves. It’s the calm that announces the approach of a storm, as the saying goes. It could be that they find a reflection in this particular announcement especially related to land reforms (land holding ceiling) of their own drive. Or there is something else it is not clear as yet.

Though UML has remained quiet, the third largest party in the Lower House, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) legislators have picked where the UML left. This is to say that now RPP and NSP lawmakers out to disrupt House proceedings. Their main demand is for a ceiling on property. This is a unique demand in the light of the fact this is not seen in any part of the world nor is it feasible. When the main question of corruption is still looming large on our heads to go for something impossible is ridiculous. If there were precedents from anywhere in the world, it could be given a try but that is not the case.

There is, of course, wealth tax that takes away a chunk of the income of the high income bracked taxpayers. But that is found everywhere in the world. But here it is not a demand to this but that of clamping down on property. It is like trying to convey the idea that people should not earn very much but remain satisfied by little. If this were to be the case no big industries or business ventures would come up. It would also be like reverting to the primitive times with leading a hand to mouth existence.

The RPP and NSP lawmakers’ unusual demand cannot be justified in any light except for being an issue to stall the House. And, in this direction they have been quite successful. It is already five days and the House proceedings have not been able to move ahead with its business. It is a misfortune that the House has been stalled in such a manner. The MPs ought to remember that the House meetings are meant to discuss and find means and ways to look into the problems of the people and their grievances. But instead of shouldering this onerous task, the agitating lawmakers are functioning in the same way that the UML had adopted in the 19th session.

Are they concerned about the welfare of the nation? The answer may vary according to the political leaning of a citizen. The deadlock in the House once again will affect the passage of a number of Bills that are waiting to be discussed and passed. We are now witness to the same scene as if the same play has been staged though with a new cast shouting slogans and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Deuba.

The conspiracy theory does not work here as all are loyal to the country. The only possible reason may be that they want to make their voice heard though for a cause that has no validity. Wealth declaration and taking action against those who had income in excess of their known sources would have been a more reasonable demand. But asking for a ceiling on property which includes even the legal earnings does not make sense even to a layman.

Losers

It is high time that the MPs make reasonable demands and protest in the House. There has to be patience and sincerity to purpose for the right things but not disruption of the House for the sake of stalling the proceedings. If such uncalled for events take place with regularity, then the House cannot function smoothly and it is the people in general who will be the ultimate sufferers.

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