Tyranny of the majority!

That Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has already become a heavy and unbearable cargo for the entire nation has yet again been proved by the fresh "proposition" forwarded by the country's apex court to the Constitutional monarch regarding the citizenship bill that got through the parliament enjoying congress majority almost a year back.

The constitutional monarch who attended to the popular will, answerable political forces included and albeit congress excluded, and dared to send the bill for the consideration of the Supreme Court seeking its advice as to whether the bill thus approved by the congress government were in accordance with the letter and spirit of the constitution or not? The apex court arrived at a stimulating conclusion last week and opined that the aforementioned citizenship bill sent by the Koirala regime for the Royal seal was in complete "contravention" with some of the stipulated clauses of the constitution that dealt with the procedures and the necessary requirements that were essential for a person to enjoy the Nepali citizenship under the constitution now in force. The Supreme Court summarily gave the judgement in the form of a suggestion that the bill approved by the Koirala regime were, if offered the Royal seal, would mean that the law superseding the constitution adopted in 1990. Thanks that the fresh suggestion arrived at by the honourable court regarding the citizenship bill shatters the very intent of a regime that summarily wished to invite foreigners and add them into the national mainstream and face the disastrous consequences as has been seen in some other parts of the world. The mal -intent of the regime perhaps has been exposed now and that the nation must take a sigh of relief. The tyranny of the congress majority stands thus badly exposed in the eyes of the entire nationalist population.

However, the story is doesn't end here. As per the constitution, the constitutional monarch is obliged to act in a manner desired by the parliament according to the article 72, which forces the King to approve any bill or whatsoever that bears a sticker of the "finance" bill. Now that the SC has made it profusely clear and has apparently hinted the King not to offer his Royal seal to the bill in controversy, the King equally is duty bound to bless the bill with his seal and allow it to take the form of a law. Here is the dilemma for the King. Should he act as per the advice of the SC and dismiss the bill for good or act as per the constitution demanded from him?

Two schools of thought are prevailing in the nation. The first understandably suggests the monarch to abide by the SC's advice and send the bill back to the place from where it originated and ask the establishment to send to him yet another bill deleting aside the "opposed" portions. However, the other set remains adamant over the theory that since the bill is a finance bill and hence the King has no right to brush it aside but approve unconditionally.

The general or say the popular opinion is that the monarch must heed to the suggestions forwarded by the apex court. In their opinion, the court is the real interpreter of the constitution and hence the monarch should go by the fresh ruling of the court. The fact is that the King is not bound to act in a manner as advised by the court. The monarch is free to chose the court's or the government's way.

The government under Koirala thus on moral grounds must resign for its bill has duly been declared unconstitutional. It is a different matter that there is no word "moral ground" as such in Koirala's self-compiled dictionary and hence his resigning voluntarily appears simply remote. He is a different stuff which should have been clear by now to all of his shakers and movers.

How the King acts in the days ahead will have to be watched. Yet let us expect that the King act in a manner that goes in the favour of the popular will and that being the sending the dangerous bill back to the place from where it originated. This notwithstanding, the fact is that a sizeable chunk of the genuine Nepalese in the Terai plains have been denied their rights in getting the citizenship certificates. A mechanism has got to be developed soon that satisfies the men living in the Terai which allows them to feel that they too were the sons of the same soil. However, it should be thoroughly thought through before enacting such laws, which might become a pretext for the aliens to grab the citizenship certificates in lieu of hefty amounts as there is no dearth of corrupt bureaucrats or for that matter the so called Nepali leaders who more often than not feel honoured in managing certificates for alien nationals. This has happened in the past and there is no guarantee that it won't happen again in the future.

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