Important Session

As summoned by His Majesty the King, the 17th session of parliament began the other day with Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai addressing the joint meeting. The Bill session is important in the sense that we  are observing a  decade   of the restoration of the multi party system gained through  the People’s   Movement and the Prime Minister has rightly emphasised on urgent necessity to take stock of the past shortcomings and enhancing the dignity of the parliament for the development of the multi-party democratic system. It becomes all the more important as the country has been going through a period of political uncertainty due to the  hung parliament and frequent changes in the government during the last four years before the people gave a comfortable majority to the Nepali Congress in  the last general elections held about  ten months ago. It is also to be noted here that during the last four years or so the people were frustrated at the horse trading of the politicians who were more interested in perks and privileges for themselves than anything else as if politics is for personal benefits only and the interest of the country and well-being of the general populace do not count.

From these aspects the present session is crucial for the government as it has to solve many problems the country has been facing since last several years. It will be unfair to expect dramatic changes from the government, which has not even completed one year in office. But it is hoped that the present  session will be effective to gradually sort out the issues and find means to fulfill them.

There is no doubt that the government has been doing and will do its best to fulfill the high aspirations of the people. The role of the opposition parties too becomes equally important in tackling the national issues. The mentality of opposing for the sake of opposing should be discarded when the government has been committed in garnering all party consensus to  regulate  law and order situation and to contain the so-called Maoist insurgency which has been a thorn to all the governments in the last four years. Along with this the present session, it is hoped, will also be effective in  finding the ways to control or lessen the rampant poverty, illiteracy, corruption, inflation etc. prevailing in the country.  Against  this background it is worth remembering here that the Prime Minister has expressed confidence that the government’s efforts in this session will be focused more on people’s welfare and remains active in the task of nation building and rise above narrow party politics. As a matter of fact, it is heartening to note that,  though it is too early to have any concrete and tangible results, the outcome of the government’s initiatives are showing positive signs and the economic trends too are positive.   The initiatives shown towards the Maoists for holding talks too will yield  positive response  for solving the problem once and for all.

Now that the seventeenth session of parliament has already started with its focus on the vital issues the country is facing and it is hoped that it will be successful in solving them.  In this regard, the expression of the Speaker of the   Houses of Representatives, which he delivered at the beginning of the present   parliamentary session, needs special mentioning as it has emphasised on the constructive  role the parliamentarians have to play. He has rightly said that only when the people’s  representatives are aware and honest towards  their duties and responsibilities  the prestige of the parliament would enhance and their accountability towards the people would become meaningful. As such it will not be too high an expectation to hope that the session will be successful in further consolidating democracy, multi-party democracy and well-being of the general populace.