NATIONAL 1 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Heading For Confrontation

The issues nagging the country are overshadowed by all major political parties launching agitations

By KESHAB POUDEL

Left Parties on the streets : In aggressive mood

With the coming of spring season and the rise in temperature, the level of mercury in Nepalese politics, too, is taking a swift upturn with opposition parties taking to streets demonstrating against the government.

Although the House session is hectic, the main opposition party CPN-UML is busy in streets mobilizing its various sister organizations to launch agitations against the government.

After the call of Nepal Bandha and other agitational programs, UML is now locking horns with the ruling party Nepali Congress in the parliament demanding the resignation of Minister of State for Forest and Soil Conservation Mohammad Altaf Alam.

Alam rebuffed the charges of the main opposition party saying that some forces were trying to end his political career in the district. "Why should I resign when I have lost everything in the district," said Alam, whose property in the district was gutted.

Whatever the circumstances, CPN-UML sees the Rautahat incident as a point to press urine the government by disrupting the parliamentary procedures.

"We will not allow the parliament to turn as long as Alam remains the Minister of State," thundered Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of UML and main opposition leader.

It is not only the UML that is organizing agitation. The student wings of radical communist parties launched strike at the Tribhuwan University (TU) campuses last week. Likewise, the teachers gheraoed the Ministry of Education while the MPs disrupted the House proceedings.

Not to be outdone, the underground Maoists have already called for "armed shutdown" on April 6.

"When ruling party turned deaf ears to our concerns, we had no other option than to stall the business of the House," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of the CPN-UML and main opposition leader. "How can we allow the smooth functioning of the parliament when our party workers are being kidnapped, tortured and killed by Congress workers."

From the RPP to Nepal Sadbhavana Party and nine leftist parties, all the parties have joined the bandwagon damning the government and the ruling party. Even sister organization of ruling Nepali Congress is planning to launch agitation against the government.

Nepal Teacher's Association, a sister organization of Nepali Congress, staged sit-in before the Ministry of Education.

Transport entrepreneurs are launching strikes in the far western region of the country. It seems that this is the suitable season to start agitation.

Many see these agitations as normal phenomena. "As long as such agitations remain peaceful, it is normal practice in democracy. The government must respond to such problems," said a political analyst.

However, the distrust of the opposition parties in the parliament is a reason for concern. Despite having such a sizeable number of MPs in the House of Representatives, the UML's penchant for taking to the streets speaks otherwise of the party's faith.

Nevertheless, the opposition parties' concerns are not totally misplaced. The government, too, is guilty of not paying attention to the genuine issues plaguing the nation and the countrymen.

At a time when the country needs stability, the recent events of the political parties only serves to disturb the political process by allowing different elements to play their tricks.