Handle with care or else…

The political party run by the stalwarts of the erstwhile Panchayat regime is at the moment playing double. While on the one hand this conglomerate of the former ruthless rulers appears to be toeing the lines of the other two political parties, the congress and the UML, regarding effecting certain constitutional amendments this parliamentary session itself, on the other the party also concurrently wishes to be-fool the people at large that it would support the two parties only if the said or say proposed amendments are not utilized by them in making the whole affair a ploy to bounce back to power. The party of the former panchas apparently has not a clear stand on the constitutional reform agenda yet. However, the party of the former autocratic rulers, in the process, forgets to understand that in doing so and saying so the party remains badly exposed not only in front of the laymen but also among those who have seduced them of late in favor of the constitutional reforms. It stands exposed among the people in the sense that the people know its very past credentials and hence dubs its unclear position as a ploy to divert the attention of the masses wherein its prestige and popularity both remain at its lowest ebb.

In the same vein the RPP is fully aware that if the party did not extend the needed support to the UML and the congress in their fresh move aimed at constitutional reforms, it would instantly be branded as a bunch of "reactionaries" and hence out of fear the RPP apparently has been forced to yield to the dictates of the two major powerful political entities. This means that the RPP men still fear of being dubbed as reactionaries.

In the process, the party of the former panchas has become a "tail" of the congress and the UML, for obvious reasons. To put it more bluntly, the RPP as of today neither has a clear vision about the congress-UML agenda on constitutional reforms nor finds itself in a position to differ with the congress-UML agenda.

The vague manner in which the RPP stalwart Kamal Thapa put his party's view in front of Nepali media men at a program organized by the Federation of the Nepalese Editors' and Publishers last week were ample indication to the fact that the RPP would go along in the lines of the congress-UML combine regarding the constitutional reforms and in the process might be offered some "sweets" for its kind support in that regard. However, the RPP fails to understand that for the congress and the UML combine their grouping is nothing more than a stepping-ladder to achieve their declared goals in order to win over the people's hearts come next general elections. This much is understandable that any political party would wish to push its own political agenda for gaining support from the people at large and that too at time of the elections. This is what a political party should do in effect. Its main objective should be to win the hearts of the people or say its voters. However, it is also incumbent on the political parties to push their political agenda sensing the mood of its own voters and listening to the voices of informed citizenry and the civil society members. However, this time neither the congress nor the UML have felt the need to talk to the people regarding their one point agenda perhaps considering that the people count only at time of the elections! And this is a very naked fact that the common voters or for that matter the intellectuals of the nation are only contacted by the political parties at time of the elections. For these leaders and political parties the people, the namesake sovereign one at the moment, were "inferior creatures" who become suddenly important only at time of the elections.

We remain surprised as to why the common men and for that matter the responsible members of the civil society have not understood the gravity of the matter and come out in the public? We fail to understand that why the responsible citizenry does not speak its mind vis-à-vis the constitutional amendments which if allowed to go ahead will definitely go the congress and the UML way!

However, we are not against the constitutional amendments as has been proposed by the congress-UML combine. In fact we too wish that certain suitable amendments must be effected in the 1990 constitution so that it allows the neglected and the marginalised group of the Nepali society to effectively participate in the overall functioning of the system. However, we wish that such amendments took place at some opportune moments at least when the nation returns to normalcy.

Failing to listen to the voices of the people in matters of constitutional reforms might prove costly to the political parties who have been championing the case so forcefully at the moment.

The plea that the present proposal aimed at constitutional reforms might facilitate the Maoists insurgents to join the mainstream national politics also stands untenable as the Maoists as yet have not ventilated that the reform agenda pushed by the congress-UML were up to the mark that satisfied the rebels at least for the time being. However, if the changes in the constitution facilitated the Maoists to join the mainstream time permitting then we would not hesitate in supporting the present Congress-UML move that is so cleverly been supported by the erstwhile rulers that is the RPP wallahs.

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