Let Govt Work

IT need not be over-emphasised that the present government needs utmost support from all the political parties if it is to succeed—and succeed as swiftly as possible—in getting the country out of the state of emergency and picking up the pieces from the ravages of the Maoist violence. Apart from doing all it can to shorten the period of emergency, the government also faces the regular challenge of continuing development works so necessary for the country. Considering the challenges the country is facing, the government must be allowed to concentrate on the job at hand without any disturbance and distractions from any political quarters. Any move that threatens the government’s life must be roundly condemned. All big and small parties in the national political scene should extend support both in words and deeds so that the government is successful in its task of bringing normalcy in the day to day functioning of the nation. It is redundant to say that the support from Nepali Congress party to its own government should be unqualified and absolute. The party leaders, from the top rung stalwarts to the party cadres, must give their unconditional solid backing to the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba which received full support for the unprecedented step last month of having to introduce a state of emergency. This bold step to quell unprecedented terrorist activities received support from not only by parties across the country’s political spectrum but also by Nepal’s foreign friends in no uncertain terms.

Nothing in the performance of the Deuba administration should compel any one, least no one in the Nepali Congress party leadership, to start making noises about the need for a change in the nation’s governmental leadership. The current reference by some leaders to a "broader democratic alliance" as being the need of the hour defies comprehension. The consensus-building, alliance-building and partnership-building and what have you among political parties of all hues in national politics should not per se raise eyebrows. But there is a time and place for everything, and the Nepalese people at this hour of national emergency could do without what looks like an attempt to undermine a well-functioning government. As former prime minister and leader of the Nepali Congress Krishna Prasad Bhattarai said Monday evening on national television, the question of broader democratic alliance was "illogical and irrelevant" since, as he rightly said, the Nepali Congress was an able party and had a majority in the parliament. His call for all the political parties in the parliament to show their commitment towards safeguarding democracy and multiparty system should also be interpreted as a plea to allow the government to focus on addressing the country’s problems. Let the government work.