OUR OBSERVATION

What happened in the “Honeymoon Period”?

Less than a week remains before the present majority Nepali Congress Government completes what is popularly considered as the “Honeymoon Period”. However, the government has received challenges from the opposition party even before this grace period has been over.  Explaining the push and shove tactics, a UML MP once told this writer, “Why should we wait for an imaginary period before warning the government to function at full throttle?”.

Whatever the excuse, such pressure is increasing even more these days, what with the civil servants also coming out on the streets demanding various facilities, including a hike in the present pay scale. On this front, the government probably will be able to satisfy at least that one demand of the protesters. As we had mentioned earlier, the Pay Commission formed by the previous government had already recommended that a hike should be made in the pay scale of the civil servants. The Commission had recommended as much as a 40 per cent increase.

It is not sure whether the government can match this suggestion, but according to sources within the government, it is ready mentally to make the government workers happy. In fact if some reports are to be believed, then Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya has already stashed aside quite a sum in the present budget, which can be used to pay the increased salary of the civil servants.

Meanwhile, some of the achievements or  what we can call firm decisions made by the government in the “Honeymoon Period” are, the decision to ban the polluting Vikram tempos from the streets of Kathmandu, appointment of about a dozen secretaries in various ministries, appointment of ambassadors, implementation of five days a week work schedule, the controversial appointment of all teachers who have completed one year of service as permanent government workers and the full fledged preparation for the forthcoming SAF Games among others.

But one area where the government and its spokesmen, including ministers have badly failed, is in protecting the image of none less than the Prime Minister himself. If newspaper reports and the Kathmandu rumour mill is to be believed, then Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai is a senile old man, with virtually no control over his body, mind and speech. He reportedly is said to be in the clutches of a woman who lives with him and he also makes irresponsible remarks.

It has not helped matters with television footing showing the Prime Minister walking with the help of some aides and sometimes, one also feels he is definitely uttering irresponsible remarks by promising outrageous things in some of the functions he goes to.

If what such reports and rumours say are true, then Mr. Bhattarai, no matter how senior a politician, is not fit to rule the country. But if he is not what is being alleged, then why isn’t someone from the government clarifying matters?

Yes, we have regularly heard such excuses as “Why should we bother to deny what has been reported in a rag of a newspaper, it only gives prominence to the lies?”. This may be true sometimes,  but in the present situation, this is a wrong stance. No denial means people will start believing what is being written, even if they are lies.

Why can’t the government take action against the newspapers which write such false reports, if the reports are really false? The government is not an ordinary individual, who may  try to avoid the legal hassles while trying to sue a newspaper.

The Nepali Congress and also the government cannot keep on closing its eyes and ears to such reports. It is a matter of shame for any proud Nepali, to hear that his country’s Prime Minister is a senile old man who is also lecherous. There have been times when  even diplomats have questioned the  capability of the Prime Minister. No one should feel happy with this situation.

Coming back to the present, it is sure the opposition parties are also going to step up their attacks against the government. Some protest programmes have already been announced, including a bandh  on 15th of September. The sister organisations of the opposition parties, specially the main opposition, the CPN (UML) are also increasingly being active. So it will have a rougher period once the “Honeymoon Period” is over in a few days time.

The government has to be firm to deal with such problems. It should not flounder just because the opposition starts to threaten it with strikes and protests.

     This is something which we saw happening when in 1991 the Nepali Congress had formed the majority government. Now looking back, it can be realised that the communists, including the UML, had been protesting just for the sake of it. They really did not have any real agenda or the interest of the people in their mind when they shut down the nation time and again, many times violently.

It is not because we like Krishna Prasad Bhattarai or the Nepali Congress that we are saying such things about the communists, who again are in the opposition now. It is just that the people expect to see a stable government, which functions effectively. We just can’t afford to see another government buckle under pressure from within or outside.