National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

Roadmap or Roadblock?

The decision by the UML to go for new constitution has added confusion rather than helping to resolve the political impasse

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

The sudden decision by the central committee meeting of the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) last week to go for new constitution by coming up with what it calls as ‘roadmap’ has changed the whole complexion of the ongoing political agitation.

UML leaders : Adding to the confusion ?

Mid-way through the anti-regression agitation whose main demand was the re-activation of the constitutional process thrown off the track by the October 4, 2002 decision of the King, the largest political party has now decided to change gears. “The UML’s roadmap could open a Pandora’s box and is no better than the Maoist demand for constituent assembly. It will only prolong the existing political instability,” said a political analyst.

“Nepali Congress and the UML are the two major partners who had joined hands to restore the democracy in 1990 that also witnessed the promulgation of the democratic Constitution. As such, it is up to these two parties to struggle for the re-activation of the constitution. At a time when this objective is yet to be fulfilled, the UML has made a strange decision of going for the new constitution,” said Ram Chandra Poudel, former deputy prime minister and senior Nepali Congress leader.

Last week, the five-day-long central committee meeting of the UML decided that it is ready to embrace procedures to frame new constitution. Concluding that the present political impasse would not be resolved by merely amending few articles of the constitution, the party has decided that a new constitution needs to be framed by seeking the participation of the Maoists as well.

The central committee meeting also adopted the ‘roadmap’ proposed by the general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal with few changes. The roadmap proposes that the present government should be dislodged immediately and a new government formed as per the recommendation of political parties of the dissolved House of Representatives.

The government formed in such a manner would then declare ceasefire with the Maoists and bring them to dialogue; a roundtable conference would then be held, which would again form an interim government including representation from the Maoists. The interim government would then hold the elections of the House of Representatives, which would again form an all party commission to draft new constitution to be formally adopted by the same elected parliament.

The roadmap also states that the roundtable conference would set up the agenda for the progressive changes and that such agenda would be based on fundamentals like people’s sovereignty, multi-party democracy, basic rights and constitutional monarchy.

“We are a responsible party and we have to behave responsibly. Though our primary demand was to form an all party government and amend the constitution, it was clear that other forces like the Maoists were not ready to support that. That is why we came up with the roadmap calling for new constitution,” said Pradeep Nepal, spokesperson of the UML. The latest decision by the UML comes after its general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal held consultations with the Maoist leaders in Lucknow, India and the King in Nagarjuna palace.

Parties like NC, however, are unprepared to buy the argument. “We had agreed to launch joint agitation by putting forth the demand for an all party government that would restore the dissolved House. It is up to the elected House to sort out the problems from then onwards,” said Poudel.

Political analysts say that UML’s roadmap is littered with too much confusion. “Like who will form the all party government and what happens to the present constitution, they are unclear,” said an analyst. “Besides their proposal of holding roundtable conference, too, is bewildering.” Congress leaders are most miffed at the apparent move by the UML to drop its major demand for the restoration of the House of Representatives.

At a time when a certain element is active in the country to destroy the present constitution through violent means, the UML has lent credence to their activities by also putting itself on their side as far as the utility of the present constitution is concerned. As such, the latest roadmap could only act as new roadblock in the achievement of stability in the country.