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LOCAL BODIES |
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LOCAL BODIES |
In The Apex Court How long court can indulge
in political matter ? By A CORRESSPONDENT Although it is a political question,
lawyers have asked the Supreme Court whether the country can be run without elected
representatives. As political parties and their affiliated organizations sit behind, a
group of lawyers argue that villages, towns and districts should not be left without
elected representatives. This is not the first time that local
bodies have been without elected representatives. Following the restoration of democracy
in 1990, the local bodies were without representatives for three years.
A three-member special bench of the
Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhyaya began hearings on the issue
of the expiry of the five-year tenure of local bodies' representatives and alternative
arrangements to fill the vacancies. Although the government's decision interrupted the
whole process of local governance, it was a political decision that should have been
challenged in a political manner. Local bodies control considerable resources
and maintain wide influence in the local level, the government found it politically
expedient to go to the elections without opposition-controlled local bodies. Regardless of
his assertions to the country, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, too, allowed the tenure
of local bodies to expire in order to gain political mileage ahead of the parliamentary
elections scheduled for November 13. The petitioners have demanded that the
government should either extend the tenure of the local bodies by a year under the law or
announce the date for new elections. Defending the government's decision, Attorney-General
Prem Bahadur Bista argued that the government could do neither under the existing
circumstances. Legal practitioners have taken another
political issue to court. Over the long term, this trend can only complicate the political
climate. Moreover, the court can be in no position to entertain every political issue that
grips the country. If political parties are really serious about exposing the government's
bad intentions, they should take their case to the people and build public opinion against
the government. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
