HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

'Govt Keen to hold diologue with Maoists for ending crisis'

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, July 4: General Secretary of the Nepali Congress and MP Sushil Koirala has urged the opposition parties for creating a positive political atmosphere to end the crisis facing the country at present.

The government is ready to hold talk with the Maoists to solve the five-year-old insurgency perpetrated by them, Koirala said.

“But with whom we should talk?” he put a question before the House of Representatives today that continued discussion on the government’s policy and programme.

The government has taken several initiatives to create an appropriate environment to hold dialogue with the Maoists, he said. “But they were not serious and honest to the government’s call for solving the problem.”

Multi-party democracy is a value based political system that needs political culture for its smooth and effective management.

On the government’s policy, Koirala said that it has included all-important topics such as issues of law and order, communication, roads, education, health, water supply, poverty alleviation and investment among others.

Saying that the oppositions are protesting the government’s programme only for the sake of protest, he requested the opposition MPs not to doubt on the 14-point agenda proposed by the Prime Minister on the first day of the current session. “The PM has honestly forwarded the agenda.”

The Prime Minister is determined to ensure peace and security, curb corruption and work for good governance in the country, he said. “But it is the oppositions whose co-operation is necessary to realise the PM’s commitments.”

The NC General Secretary also requested the main opposition party to be responsible since it could be the ruling party and may have to cope up with similar crises that the present government is facing.

He said that the government has introduced the Public Security Regulation to maintain law and order situation in the country.

“It is only an illusion that the Regulation will undermine the rights of the people and the achievements of the Popular Movement of 2046 B.S.”

He justified that the government brought the Armed Police Ordinance in the Parliament to ensure the protection of the people’s lives and property, which is the government’s first duty towards its citizenry, he stated.

Also speaking today, CPN-UML MP Ishwor Pokharel said that question of legitimacy of the PM’s 14-point has been raised since it has not been included in the government’s policy and programme.

Pokharel said that the government failed to solve the Maoists problem because it did not accept this as the political problem.

Calling the govrnment’s document as nothing more than ‘staging a drama,’ he termed it as lacking the essence for solving the country’s current problems and full of errors. Pokharel said that the document lacked the commitment to end the chaos in the education and health sectors.

The UML MP said that in any democratic set up there is a sense of accountability to any major event. But, he said, the government failed to take responsibility to what happened to the Royal family.

Saying free, fair and peaceful elections are the basis for democracy and nationality, Pokharel demanded that the government implement the report of the high level committee formed under the chairman of the Prime Minister to amend the electoral process.

House Debate

Govind Bikram Shah, MP of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said that the policy paper could not solve the burning problems of the country. It does not speak for the regional balance.

He said that the government’s Integrated Development and Security Package has failed to realize its mission.

Badri Prasad Mandal, leader of the Parliamentary Committee of the Nepal Sadbhawan Party said that the policy paper was just a copy of the previous such documents and is far from the reality.

Pointing at the treasury bench where the most of the seats were empty, Mandal accused the ruling party MPs of not being serious to the House’s activities.

Mandal said that there is an acute sense of insecurity not only among the general public but also among the MPs.

He blamed the government for being tyrannical and influenced by feudal mentality while handling the state affairs.

The NSP MP said that the government’s programme has failed to ensure the rights of the poor to have an access to health and education services.

Navaraj Subedi, MP of the Rastirya Janmorcha said that the document was brought only to maintain the tradition.

He said the document only offers shallow assurances on security matter and, thus, is difficult to believe.

Subedi said that the government should first go into the root of corruption and then start clamp down on the corrupt ones from the top.

Saying that the line of the absolute poverty is on the rise, Subedi asked whether the government has any policy to reduce the rampant poverty in the country.

Likewise, CPN-UML MP Gokarna Bista said that the document lacks commitment for the professional development of sports that have an important role to enhance Nepal’s image in the international arena.

NC MP Hom Nath Dahal demanded the government install the statue of His Majesty late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev inside the Parliament hall to commemorate late His Majesty’s contribution and commitment in establishing and strengthening the multi-party democracy in Nepal.

Urging all political parties to embrace Constitutional Monarchy, Dahal said a broad based national consensus is must to end the crisis.

He said that the need of the hour is to honestly implement the government’s policy and programme that has minutely encompassed everything.

Dahal stressed for strengthening the mechanism of policy implementing bodies and democratic institutions that are set up under the guideline of the Constitution.

Brijesh Gupta, MP of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, said that the meeting of the House of Representatives has become a mere formality since the amendment proposals put by the oppositions have not been included in the government’s programme and policy. We have seen this trend for eleven years with the re-ushering of new political system sin the country.

Saying that there is crisis of faith in every sector of society, Gupta said the government has failed to give solution to the problem of citizenship certificate.

He demanded implement the reports of Parliamentary Committees of the House of Representatives and rectify inaccuracies with the voters’ identity cards.

RSS adds: CPN-UML's Astalaxmi Shakya said the policy and programmes of the government are embellished with formalities and the government has taken up a policy of suppression in order to hide its own unpopularity.

Khem Raj Bhatta Mayalu of Nepali Congress said His Majesty's Government's policy and programmes have addressed important national issues like poverty alleviation, resolving the problems of unemployment, maintaining law and order, development of women and children and establishment of effective health care systems.

CPN-UML's Krishna Prasad Dahal and Tirtha Gautam said the working paper of the government is not clear in terms of poverty alleviation, it is more concentrated on the police and army rather than the people and it is not in the interest of the remote areas and the backward and poor.

Krishna Kishore Ghimire and Dilli Raj Sharma of Nepali Congress lauded the working paper's clear presentation on matters relating to industrial security, corruption control, good governance, socialisation of education, commercialisation of agriculture, resolution of the citizenship problem and poverty alleviation.

Mahendra Yadav of the same party said special emphasis should be given to effective enforcement of the many development programmes mentioned in the working paper and relating to education, health, commerce, water resources and law and order.

CPN-UML's Damber Singh Sambahamphe and Durga Linkha said the government's policy paper cannot take the country out the existing state of crisis. It does not make any serious committment to the resolution of problems relating to corruption, unemployment and poverty or to making the judiciary financially and administratively independent.

Krishna Lal Maharjan and Dan Bahadur Chaudhary, also of the CPN-UML, decribed the government's policy and programmes as directionless and failing to incorporate the 14-point programme presented by the Prime Minister. Nor did they express any serious commitment to quality development in education.

Likewise, CPN-UML's Nar Bahadur Hamal and Pashupati Chaulagain said balanced development and resolution of problems facing the people are not possible through this working paper, and accused the government of working in a one-sided manner, not taking moral responsibility of the Royal Palace incident and not incorporating the 14-point programme into its policy paper.

Prem Bahadur Singh and Bhadra Bahadur Thapa of the same party said the policy and programmes of the government do not include any programme to strengthen the police administration or alleviate poverty, or take a long-term approach to the development of water resources, land reform and resolution of the Maoist problem.

Ram Chandra Yadav of the same party accused the government of deducting the subsidy being provided in agriculture, not presenting a clear policy in education, health and housing and remaining silent over the construction of trail roads.

The House of Representatives will meet again at 11:00 am tomorrow.

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