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Parties’ strain 1990 Constitution!

Kathmandu: So far King Gyanendra has stuck meticulously to constitutional provisions in his interpretations of resolving the prevalent constitutional crisis. He had in October last asked parties’ represented in the now dissolved parliament to contribute to the making of the government. Having failed to secure cooperation from the parliamentary parties, he then lodged Lokendra Bahadur Chand as Prime Minister ostensibly upon tacit agreement of these very parties who claimed the post for themselves. He then asked the political parties for their ministerial candidates. Not receiving cooperation here too, the Chand cabinet was constituted of the fresher and members of parliament of junior parties. The Chand government resigned last week. He again as promised by him publicly summoned leaders’ of political parties represented in the parliament and demanded a unanimous candidate to head the government.

As constitutional monarch the King has played his role. It is the constitutional role of the political parties that is now being put to test. Having agreed initially on Madhav Nepal as unanimous Prime Ministerial candidate, five agitating parliamentary parties’ namely the congress, the UML, the Jan Morcha, the NMKP and the Sadbhavana (Anandi Devi) together now hitch their nominations with the restoration of the dissolved parliament. Three major parties in parliament, the Deuba congress, the RPP and the Sadbhavana (Mandal) stake their separate claims to government. Political parties outside the parliament reject the agitation totally.

At time of writing, Madhav Nepal’s nomination appears now a dicey possibility in terms of constitutionality. His is not a unanimous parliamentary choice. Moreover, the constitutional provisions demanded of the King are very testy. Can the King constitutionally revive a parliament the dissolution of which has already been upheld by the nation’s apex court? Can the King make a political decision under this constitution upon demands from the streets?

It is here that the constitution has by strength of the agitation been further compromised in the name of democracy. The coming days, by political action on part of those championing democracy, are likely to be crucial to the constitution itself.

Thus the meeting proceeded at the Royal Palace last Friday!

Kathmandu: The constitutional monarch last Friday summoned the leaders of the agitating parties at the Royal Palace for consultations. The objective of the meeting was to defuse the crisis that has at the moment gripped the nation and to arrive at a solution that would safely take out the country from the said crisis. The leaders’ wasted no time in running towards the Palace thinking that the days ahead were theirs and that the nation will have to go their way. The leaders thus concluded that the King has yielded to their demands.

In effect the King yielded but with a marked "difference".

The difference was there to the utter dismay and discomfiture of the big-5 who could see entering those leaders whom they considered "untouchables" in the present prevailing political context.

Just imagine what would have happened to the mental psyche of president Koirala who could see Sher Bahadur Deuba sitting adjacent to him in the room where they were all greeted by the monarch. Just consider what sort of mental torture it would have created in the minds of the big-5 when they could see Deuba, Prime Minister Chand, and Deputy Prime Minister Badri Mandal sitting comfortably in the same room which they had thought to be occupied only by them!

Indeed it was a mental torture for the members of the big-5 who had gone there to convince the King that should they be allowed to run the country would mean a sort of political relief to the monarch who had been in essence steering the nation since October last.

That was not all. The leaders of the big-5 had to listen to the lecture of Badri Mandal for all along half an hour. Mr. Mandal had all the bad words for the members of the big-5 and this he ventilated right in the presence of the monarch. Understandably, the faces of the leaders who had gone there to grab the Prime Ministerial post were forced to gulp the bitter pill. When enough was enough, the monarch himself apparently hinted Mr. Mandal to take a respite or else the whole session were to be consumed by Mr. Mandal.

Needless to say, Mr. Mandal presented himself as a potential candidate for the post of the prime minister.

Then it was the turn of RPP Chairman to present himself as a viable and competent candidate for the post freshly vacated by Mr. Chand.

Congress-D president, Deuba couldn’t control his temptations and he too quickly suggested the King that he would be the best choice for the country.

"Since my government was denied justice and unceremoniously dissolved last year, so I consider myself as the most deserving candidate for the post", so said Deuba during the meeting with the monarch last Friday evening.

Prior to that, while entering the main hall where King Gyanendra were to greet them all, president Koirala became face to face with his political archrival, Deuba.

"How come you are here", inquired Koirala.

"Don’t get surprised. Nothing to panic. I am here at the invitation of the monarch", answered Deuba.

The fact is that the moment Koirala saw Deuba entering the hall, he apparently lost all of his energy And thus sources said that during the meeting with the King, it was president Koirala who talked less, comparatively speaking.

Next morning, some of the F.M Radio stations revealed that a sort of quarrel amongst the leaders had occurred during the meeting. The people entertained as usual. What else they could do other than to entertain themselves from such "breaking" hot news.

Later, the big-5 right being inside the hall concluded that the meeting had been arranged to defuse the tempo of their agitation and that the King wished to buy time. But yet the members of the big-5 collectively proposed the name of Madhav Nepal.

The King upon listening to the differing views of the leaders attending the meeting allowed 72 hours to find a personality of consensus who could be trusted with the post of the prime minister.

The said 72 hours have lapsed. At time of writing this story, Madhav Nepal is the man of consensus of the big-5 but then he yet lacks the support of the rest of the political parties not represented in the ongoing agitation.

Surya Bahadur Thapa is also in the race.

The meeting at the Palace ended with one unhappy note. The big-4 deliberately left the fifth one in the cold. The NSP-Anandi Devi group was neither invited by the palace nor the big-4 demanded that their fifth partner too be invited. This has already created a sort of suspicion in the minds of the "fifth force" who now openly say that the whole affair does speak of the hidden intentions of the big-4 towards their party.

Analysts say that the meeting inside the palace though gives an impression that the King yielded to the demands of the big-5, but the fact is that the meeting has by default already sown the seeds of distrust and suspicion in and amongst the parties sponsoring agitation against the monarch’s October move. The fact is that each and every one needs the coveted post which explains the meaning of the "agitation".

( Compiled from various sources).

Is it S. B. Thapa or Madhav Nepal?

Kathmandu: The UML General Secretary, Madhav Nepal, is the consensus candidate for the post of the country’s next Prime Minister.

The agitating parties have reluctantly forwarded Madhav’s name for the said post.

They have done so because the meager parties other than the Congress and the UML consider not fit for the post for they lack mass support. For example, the NMKP and Jan Morcha are the parties which enjoy meager support of the population and hence appear shy in even accepting the post if the big-2 so propose in their favor.

The NSP-Anandi Devi group got a political shock the day they were denied invitation by the palace for the meeting and the subsequent refusal of its agitation partners to push their name in the invitee list of the palace. The fact is that the big-4 forgot that the inclusion of the NSP-A in their group has made them big-5 or else they would be reduced to big-4 only.

The NSP-A appear to have got the required political message from its major partners and thus it apparently has changed its views vis-à-vis the agitation. Though the leaders have taken it easily but the fact is that the NSP-A rank and file have taken it as an insult.

How the NSP-A supports the movement in the days ahead will have to be watched.

A good number of second generation leaders of the NC under president Girija have not digested its president pushing the name of Madhav Nepal for the post of the prime minister for they consider that making Madhav the country’s chief of the executive would boomerang on their own party.

They contend that if Singh Durbar were allowed to the UML, what would be left for the congress given the fact that the Maoists have already dominated the political spaces left in the villages and the districts. This is indeed the reality.

"The congress president by pushing Madhav Nepal’s name is inviting the total decay of the party", say majority of the congress leaders who now openly differ with Girija’s preference.

Koirala is in a fix now. He too has got the point but is unable to revert his unilateral decision.

"I have proposed the name of Madhav only on condition that he would revive the parliament", says Koirala to those who differ with his views.

But many in the congress don’t believe that once Madhav is seated in power would mind keeping his promises. They say that the first thing Madhav Nepal would do is to establish his party’s strongholds in the villages and the districts, which by all means will weaken the congress: both the Congress-K and congress-D.

"Reviving the now dissolved parliament would be a tough job for the king as well for he will not prefer to go against the decision of the judiciary", says a political analyst.

If pressed hard, continues the analyst, all that the King could do in this regard is that he would again consult the judiciary which in turn might upheld its previous decision. The judiciary would not wish to set a bad precedent, adds the analyst.

Be that as it may, apart from Madhav Nepal, there are others also in the race for the prime ministerial post. For example, Surya Bahadur Thapa of the RPP is one among the many who have been aspiring for this coveted post.

Rumors have it that former Indian Ambasador K.V.Rajan is here as usual to "manage" Nepal’s crisis. No wonder that Nepal’s political crises have solutions in New Delhi. Thanks the sagacity of Indian establishment that they exhibit their sincere concern for Nepal events and more often than not "push" their own prescriptions. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Sources close to the RPP say that Rajan is lobbying for Mr. Thapa though he at the very personal level enjoys my-dear relations with Madhav Nepal since he managed to seduce Madhav Nepal at time of the Mahakali treaty ratification in the Nepali parliament. But that is apparently not enough. Rajan needs a person more dynamic and effective who could understand the Indian "susceptibilities" and "sensitivities".

S.B.Thapa is a personality who is rumored to be in the good book of India and hence his choice as the prime minister in Nepal.

If this is true then even if the five parties push the name of the UML General secretary, the personality to head the next cabinet would be Thapa and not Madhav Nepal.

But, analysts opine, Madhav Nepal could be the best choice for the post of the P.M for if he is picked up could defuse the present political crisis and could run the nation in an effective manner no less than Thapa.

" Madhav Nepal is the single personality who could give a positive direction to the nation in the present scheme of things in the country and thus the people could trust on him", opined Lal Babu Yadav, a political scientist at the Patan Multiple Campus.

There are others also who wish to see Madhav Nepal as the country’s prime minister.

But how India and United States would react to Madhav’s choice?

India would not mind even a communist prime minister until its political interests remain secured in Kathamandu. So far as the U.S is concerned, it would certainly not take this possibility in good taste. For it might calculate that the UML leadership in Singh Durbar in many ways than one would benefit the maoists who have yet to come to terms with the United States.

But yet, one top officer at the US Embassy is supposed to have met Mr. Nepal Sunday at his private residence. This means that the US will not mind the UML’s elevation to this position provided the party assured the US that the Maoists will be "taken proper care of."

The situation is still fluid. The search continues. But the man fit for the post is still missing. ( Compiled at 4 PM Tuesday afternoon).

Agri. production lags far behind population growth in Nepal

-Dr. Vokes, ADB

Kathmandu: The Country Representative of the Asian Development Bank, Dr. Richard Vokes has said that the fertilizer subsidy were in effect subsidies to cover the high cost of the fertiliser industry and need to be reexamined in the context of liberalization.

Dr. Vokes made these remarks at a program organised by the Society for International development, Nepal Chapter, on the theme " Rethinking Agricultural Development in Nepal" last week.

Dr. Vokes opined that the mindset of the Nepalese policy makers have remained dominated by the old conventional methods and that the agricultural production has been unable to keep pace with the rapid growth in the population in the country. According to Dr. Vokes, the open border with India was not only a negative factor as it is considered here but it could be made just the otherwise if the Nepali side could push its production to India.

"India has already emerged as a fastest growing economy in the world and Nepal can benefit from this open border system provided it acts in an effective manner and promotes its business transactions with that country", added Dr. Vokes.

Dr. Vokes concluding his remarks suggested that Nepal should now evolve a new approach to its agricultural policy based on a careful assessment of current constraints and possibilities.

Welcoming the attending participants and the Guest Speaker, Dr. Vokes, the president of the SID, Nepal Chapter, Dr. B.K Maskay said that "notwithstanding the priority that agriculture sector has received in subsequent development plans of the country, much has up to now remained desired in terms of realizing a significant impact on the increase in the income and living standard of the Nepalese people who were still dependent largely on traditional system of farming.

According to Dr. Maskay, incentives arising out of marketing and institutional mechanisms are crucial determinants to its productivity and preference for expansion and modernization.

Nepal to benefit from WTO membership

-Mr. Eussen, US Embassy, Kathmandu

Kathmandu: The Economic/Commercial Officer at the United States Embassy in Kathmandu, Mr. Matthew Eussen, last Friday made a lecture on the Economic diplomacy being pursued by the United States in the recent years.

He was speaking to a group of Nepali media men at the premises of the American center at Gyaneshwar.

Highlighting the aims and the objectives of the United States Economic diplomacy, Mr. Eussen divulged that the United States aimed at achieving the following among others included; To expand free market trade; Expand opportunities for US business; Resolve issues that impeded to foster trade; Reduce and eliminate foreign trade barriers, increase transparency and strengthen rule of law; Develop international rules and standards; and expand and promote US interests in the WTO; regional trade organizations and multilateral organizations.

"By helping other countries to develop, we help ourselves", revealed Mr. Eussen. In the course of his lecture, Mr. Eussen also made it clear that his country was in favor of the elimination of all tarrifs on all manufactured goods by 2015.

"We have already forwarded this proposal at the concerned place", added Mr. Eussen.

He however, did not mince words in exposing the unnecessary hurdles that a normal business man has to undergo at time of getting a licensee at the Nepal’s ministries.

"Nepal’s laws and bureaucracy doesn’t encourage the foreign investment", revealed the US officer.

According to him, Nepal lacked transparency in its dealing with the investors; and that it was very difficult, if not impossible, for a foreign investor to get non-tourist visa and that there were visible variations in tax levies and so on and so forth.

Concluding his remarks, the US diplomat, however, opined that Nepal would benefit immensely from its accession to the WTO regime.

Search continues for a consensus candidate!

Kathmandu: The deadline set by the constitutional monarch instructing the agitating political parties to furnish their consensus candidate for the post of the country’s prime minister by Monday evening has already lapsed.

The fact is that at time of penning this story, one full day has crossed from the set deadline but yet the agitating parties appear not to have found a consensus candidate amongst themselves.

The reason is clear.

It is because apparently that several other political parties too have forwarded their names for the post of the prime minister and in doing so they have clearly sent signals to the agitating parliamentary parties that they too can’t be minimized in the race for the prime ministerial post lying vacant since full four days.

The agitating parties though appear adamant in having their own candidate for the said post, but yet wish that the other parties too supported their consensus candidate.

And this is what they are lacking till today evening.

This situation apparently has forced the monarch to reconsider his previous deadline who now thinks that the parties be allowed some more time until they arrive at a consensus for the post of the prime minister. Sources say that His Majesty in the meantime has been in "consultation" with the Chief Justice of the Nepal’s apex court and has presumably sought the latter’s views on how to proceed in deciding on whom the post should go given the petitions being sent to the palace in series from various political parties claiming the post.

Should this mean that the selection of the next Prime Minister will take some more time?

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