Mainali’s admittance and the voiceless ‘silent majority’

The key men who remained instrumental for the restoration of the multiparty order in this Kingdom too have begun admitting that the system now in place is under tremendous strain. However there is a striking change in their tone and mood when they now divulge this secret. Unlike summarily blaming the ‘reactionary forces’ and the ‘renegades’ of the erstwhile regime for the sorry state of today’s disturbed affairs of the nation, very surprisingly these key politicians now see fault in themselves for all the ailments that have gripped the country of late.

Radha Krishna Mainali who began his political career with the firebrand communist grouping and fought relentless struggle for the ouster of the last system and in the process was sent to the bars for years and years now admits that " due to the sheer follies of we the politicians who fought for the restoration of this order, the system has earned a very bad name in the minds of the common lay men".

Mainali, to recall, had been a very powerful member of that historic fortunate team which finally ‘negotiated’ the restoration of ‘multi-party system’ with King Birendra on the fateful evening of April 9, 1990 inside the ramparts of the Royal Palace.

Within ten years of the democratic system, Radha Krishna Mainali too saw many ups and downs in his own political career. In the beginning, he was a very powerful member of the UML which made him minister. This post gave him name and fame. However, the fame he was bestowed by the common men was a negative one. Mainali was reportedly involved in amassing wealth out of the commission from the import of the fertilizers at time when he was the in-charge of the ministry of agriculture. Later he became the health minister. Here as well, the Nepali media chased him and had very bad comments about this senior politician who fought for the ‘cause’ of the ‘rag-bag-bobby-tail’ section of the society all along his ‘underground life’.

If Mainali’s words were to be believed then what comes to the fore glaringly is that the country was under tremendous stress and that the continuing deterioration in the law and the order situation of the State plus the appalling degradation of the moral values and the ethics in and among the rulers currently manning the system, the stage had tentatively arrived when only the constitutional monarch could give stability and a direction to the country. However, since the present constitution has left no room for King’s participation in the scheme of political things in the country, Mainali adds and forcefully suggests that the King must be given some powers so that he could act like a balancer-guardian and save the country from fastly approaching precipice.

Now the question arises as to whether the things had really deteriorated to that extent that the silent and the dormant monarch should think of some sort of intervention well after assuming some ‘concessional powers’ from an ‘amended constitution’ or the communist stalwart had been talking simply in an exaggerated manner? The interpretation could vary from intellectuals to intellectuals as this lot too of late has become pretty biased politically. Then who else could give the exact analysis of the existing situation? The leaders? The ministers of today? Perhaps not. This set can not analyze the events in true perspective, as it is these personalities who too have contributed to bring in the situation in what has been , for example, described by Mainali. Then who else is left? The media? Forget. This "fourth estate which is more biased than ever before in its history", in my opinion, has acted like moth and have always interpreted things, save some unfortunate guys, that suited to their respective political interests. The final set that is left to speak about the situation unfortunately is totally voiceless, read the common man whose duty has been to witness the unfolding events only since a decade or so. Fall in this lot, the Kamaiyas, the illiterates, the jobless, the penniless, the unemployed youths, the hard working women folks who constitute what the political scientists prefer to call the "silent majority".

Without passing any comment on Mainali’s remarks, I leave it to my highly qualified readers to analyse themselves the situation in the country as it has already obtained today.

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