Confusion galore

Nepal’s already confused politics is taking its toll. The politicians are confused. The men in the government appear confused too. The Maoists who have become aboveground recently too are no exception to the confusing syndrome. The confusion is such that the constitutional monarch appears to be also gripped by the state of confusion that is continuing apparently since October 4 of the last year when the monarch wished to come to take the national challenge on his own shoulders. In the process, those who appear to be excessively confused are Girija Prasad, Madhav Nepal, the Maoists and the King. Sensible and responsible analysts predict that if such a state of confusion persists for long then even the Almighty would find himself unable to correct the Nepal’s excessively ailing politics. Those who have contributed to this confusion must shoulder the responsibilities if Nepal really suffers a political setback due to the arrogance and adamancy being exhibited by the political actors mentioned above.

While the confusion remains intact, the much awaited and highly publicized first round of talk between the government and the Maoist leadership went ahead bypassing other political parties who represent in the parliament. Efforts were indeed made by the Chand government to come to a common understanding by involving all the political parties for dialogue, discussion and consultation, which if had taken place would have facilitated the entire peace process, which again in turn would have provided a unified agenda for the whole nation. The agreed agenda would have then culminated into some sorts of wholesome national package combining the entire socialist, democratic and monarchist elements. Which in retrospect would have also been instrumental in satisfying the Maoist, the parliamentary parties and the monarch to work on collective aspirations. As the luck would have it or under the instigation of those forces who do not wish to see a united stance taken by the political actors so that Nepal ever remains politically unstable as it is today, the Nepali Congress, the UML and few other major opposition parties refused to sit for an all party meeting arguing that the Chand government was illegitimate and that holding discussion with an illegitimate and unconstitutional government would ultimately produce democratic orphans and undermine the spirit of 1990’s people’s revolution. It is altogether a different matter that the forces which see the present setup as undemocratic and unconstitutional had never cared about the system and the constitution while being in power and in the process had committed crimes of the sorts that their own siblings one day in the future would curse themselves for having taken birth in this or that corrupt and power-lust families.

But then yet the fact is that Mr. Chand seems incapable or can it be said that he clearly lacks the political romanticism, tactic, and imagination to stir up a feeling of national enthusiasm. Had he been smart enough to muster what he had at his disposal and indeed he has that still, mainly the wholehearted support of the monarch, he would have been able to win over Mr. Koirala -who no matter how stubborn a leader he is, also remains one of the passionate believer in the institution of constitutional monarchy in Nepal. Once Mr. Koirala was won over, Madhav Nepal’s Marxism would have been compelled to come to a compromise or else suffer the fate of piggy in the middle in the light of the radical Maoist movement and still upholding the spirit of 1990. That is how Mr. Chand should have maneuvered his political acumen rather than spending his time releasing new books and attending various social functions. The monarch’s disenchantment over their performance was a clear hint towards this direction but none of the minister(s) or for that matter the Prime Minister himself seems to have understood this. Poor monarch!

The monarch could have taken up the executive powers in his personality on October 4 with hopefully good intentions, let’s suppose for the moment. But what happened later? Looking at the past six months of the performance of the government appointed by Him, what comes to the fore is that the set he selected to steer this ailing nation were all a bunch of rotten eggs and if not that then were incompetent ones having no political base in and among the masses. The monarch’s intentions could have been all pious ones but then ……Fortunately, the talks with the Maoists have started or else the Chand government would have been a Himalayan failure. The King perhaps knows this.

All of these developments have now culminated in a national confusion. Koirala says he cannot fathom the monarch's motives and the monarch on the other hand is avoiding to consult them or refusing to grant an all party leader audience as they have been demanding. The Nepali Congress, UML and other leftist parties are all set for a national agitation, which could only fuel the wheel of confusions which is already in motion. If this state of confusion keeps prevailing a big fire can be expected to break out anytime but the million-dollar question is that who is going to extinguish? Will it be we the Nepalese who could douse the fire?

Headline | National | 5 Question  | 2nd Impression | International | Past