More than half of the honeymoon days are over. But the Chand
government does not seem to be even taking off. The harassed people are impatiently
waiting to see some kind of miracle to happen and normalcy restored so that their greatly
disturbed life becomes a little more tolerable. Transparency, one of the pillars of the
clean and honest Chand government, is still conspicuous by its absence. Why is the
government so niggardly in taking the people into confidence regarding their plans to
tackle the number one pressing problem — resolution of the insurgency plaguing the
nation? Since it has been well established that the Maoist leaders are comfortably
ensconced in Nepal's friendly country in the South, why should it be so-difficult for Mr.
Chand to take the matter with his Indian counterpart? India is not only a traditional
friend of Nepal and greatly anxious at the prevailing situation there but would go all the
way to apprehend and surrender the Maoist leaders to Nepal if only they knew where
they were sheltered. That's what they have been asserting. Such Indian assertions are,
indeed, very hard to swallow, not only for us but even for others. Be that as it may, the
Nepalese people do want to know what the Chand government is doing to solve the vexing
problem soon. We have suffered much and much Nepalese blood has been spilled. It is time
we put a stop to this insensitive carnage. And this can be possible only when all the
Nepalese people unite including the Maoists. But, it would be nothing if not a wishful
thinking knowing well the character of the political leaders who are now in the
opposition. Since their whole attention is focused on grabbing power, they seem least
interested in bringing normalcy to the troubled country. They are criticizing and
even threatening the King to include them in the government as they fear the King would
not be cowed down by their empty threats. It they had the good of the country at heart,
they would cooperate with the government, irrespective of the fact who was in power, to
bring an early end to the insurgency. They should have used whatever clout they had with
their Indian friends not to harbor the Maoist rebels, nor to support them in any way.
Since these politicians survive on their patronage and munificense, they feel helpless
even to raise the issue with their benefactors. If these Nepalese politicians had even an
iota of patriotism, their whole attention must have been centered on creating a situation
conducive to holding general elections in the country. But they are apprehensive that if
elections are held when they are out of power, the electorate will totally reject them. As
such, they are not cooperating with the government and concentrating on aggravating the
instability. Since these people are wholly responsible for landing the country in this
terrible mess, they must be made to pay for their misdeeds. For avoiding the mischiefs
they are intent on making, the government should put them behind bars and let them prove
their innocence in the court of law, for a change. Even the Maoists must not fail to
understand that piggy backing is a very unhealthy exercise and must be given up for one's
good healths as early as possible. They have to realize that they are hurting their
motherland and must desist from harming her any more and must start dialogue without any
reservation. As for Mr. Chand, we would only like to suggest that there is no time to be
lost. We had said before goodness and simplicity are, indeed, very noble virtues. But a
prime minister of Nepal at such a troublesome time needs much more. We do trust Prime
Minister Chand will be able to rise up to the occasion and initiate steps that will
contribute to restore normalcy in the country without delay. And for this he will need the
cooperation of all sections of the society. And he must know that cooperation is not given
freely. It has to be won the hard way. |
