Approaching Mid-Term Polls
Ground Realities

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE revelations made by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) in its fight against Maoist terrorism makes interesting study. This comes in the context of the fact that it is almost nine months since the State of Emergency was declared on November 26 last year. That was the time when all the security forces were mobilised to tackle the grave situation facing the country.

Agreement

That was a time when all the major political parties had agreed that the declaration of the emergency was necessary so that the country could once again heave a sigh of relief with peace and a sense of security prevailing. In the almost nine months that the State of Emergency is in force, there has been a gradual return of normalcy in many areas worst affected by Maoist terrorism. Though the 'war against terrorism' is still not over but optimism prevails thanks to the operations conducted professionally by the security forces against the terrorists.

According to what RNA had to say, about 3000 Maoist terrorists have been killed so far in various encounters. With RNA's claim that they have cracked the intelligence network of the Maoists. This means much when the fight is against a very trained group of people who have gone astray. However, it does not mean that the end of the tunnel is in sight. It requires all the vigilance in the days to come as well. It may be well remembered by the terrorists that when there is a global backlash against terrorism their indulgence in similar activities to disrupt the very process of maintaining peace and speed up development in the country cannot do any good.

After all we all belong to this country. Its prosperity and development is the heartfelt desire of all. But, instead of joining the mainstream they have been destroying the basic development infrastructures, looting and killing innocent people. It may sound alarming in the beginning but in the long run the country stands to lose much. They have to be able to think as Nepalese to work for the country and not bring it to shambles. It is not for the benefit of anyone.

Nepal as such is poor and the spate of violence and unwanton killings of ordinary people by the Maoist terrorists have already led to a most extraordinary situation. To make up for the loss inflicted it will take a long time to recover. The economic development of the country has already been affected with most of the budgetary allocation going to meet the security realated expenses. It may be right to say that only under a condition of peace can development take place. But when there is violence then peace is not there so taking development to the people proves difficult if not impossible.

In the backdrop of such a serious situation, the major political parties do not have any panacea. The only thing they know most is to criticise the government. When even a party like Nepali Congress (NC) with a glorious past cannot hold together, it seems quite unfortunate. This intra party squabble was what led to the parting of ways of the top NC leaders with one faction led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the other led by former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The repercussion was felt when both the leaders have their own party: NC led by Prime Minister Deuba and NC led by Koirala.

The matter relating to which faction should receive the tree symbol and the four-star flag is pending with the Election Commission (EC), which is yet to make the final decision. The discussion with representatives from both factions having presented their argument as to which should be awarded the particular symbol and flag. The controversy is still on. Only the EC's final decision will be able to sort out the issue and end the confusion.

Herein, it may be worthwhile mentioning that the other political parties have expressed their sympathy at such a juncture in NC's course. The Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have already gone through the pangs of split in their respective parties. Though the UML has already united, NC is going through a similar phase.
The background to this bitter truth was Koirala taking disciplinary action against Prime Minister Deuba and the stand not to give support for the extension to the State of Emergency. They were rather unfortunate decisions. It was compulsion that made Prime Minister Deuba recommend for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and call for fresh polls.

Harsh Reality

Now, it is upto the political parties to embark on the campaign trail keeping in mind the ground realities of the country: Maoist violence, economic slump including the hard bitten tourism and export industry sectors, poverty, unemployment and so on. The harsh reality is there and the people look upon the leaders to do their part to diffuse the situation for the better which will be a test of their maturity and ability. After all, that is what the people expect of their political leaders.

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