EDITOR'S NOTE

The clean sweep in the three bye-elections by the Nepali Congress is sure to heat up the political atmosphere of Nepal. If on the one hand the leader of the opposition Madhav Nepal, licking his wound, must be thinking of ways and means of taking revenge, on the other, the cronies of Girija Koirala must have started planning the strategy of dethroning Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. Bhattarai's incompetency, buffoonery, lasciviousness and outright encouragement to bribe and criminalism has, indeed, made it imperative that he be replaced by some one more sober, more competent and more practical man as early as possible. The country needs a strong, honest and imaginative leader who can command and make things work. It is not the time for "Sheikhi Chillis" who only know how to be a parasite.

Perhaps the biggest blunder Girija Prasad Koirala committed in his entire political career was to install a man in the chair which is too big for him. It is not only his inefficiency and vulgarism that are hurting the country. Even his pronouncements which by virtue of his office reflect state polices have started disturbing the balance in Nepal's foreign relations.

No wonder people have begun casting doubts even in his loyalty towards the nation. In such a damaging situation, all patriotic forces must join hands and take the right decision to save the country. When diplomats and donor agencies forsake all diplomatic norms and criticize the government for blatant corruption and non-performance, one must be able to understand that the situation is grave.

And in this grave situation, as called by the opposition party, the parliament is meeting at a special session. Even though the few days the parliament sits may fail to produce any substantive results, it would definitely provide ample opportunities for patriotic forces to denude the government. Where politicians have skins thicker than the rhino's, it is not only difficult but impossible to shame or embarrass them. Moreover, you can only shame a person who is clothed. How can you shame a person who is wandering in the emperor's new robes-bare to his bones? But the nakedness of Nepalese politicians need not cause serious concern. We are used to that. The real cause for worry at this juncture is the threat of the opposition to go the Maoists way. It has in a way substantiated our apprehensions we had expressed earlier about the secret links the leftist forces have maintained with the Maoists. The opposition in the Parliament have to play a very responsible role. They should never overlook the reality that they too would have won the bye-elections the same way the Nepali Congress has done, if they were the ruling party. The frustrations they are facing should not induce them to go for lawless behavior. The country should not be embroiled in a civil war. They must understand that it will not help any body, they themselves, the people or the nation. If that happens, the palace would not stay a silent spectator. The constitution confers enough authority on the King to come to the rescue of the country.