Resignation and Thapa go parallel

Nepal’s number one conspiratorial brain has for the first time perhaps miserably failed in achieving his avowed goals. It is for the first time that Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa has come to his senses. His dismal performance as the nation’s Prime Minister and his abject nonsuccess in seducing the agitating parties to come to his rescue plus his Himalayan failure in convincing the rebels to continue the talks for a more longer period, all put together what could be said of Thapa is that his political utility is over and that he should now tender his resignation so that a new face could start afresh all the processes that not only brings the agitating parties to terms with the government but also could bring the rebels back to the table. The million dollar question is that will Thapa resign on his own? Equally important question could be that whether the King would be able to convince him to resign? Even if the King tells him to resign, will Thapa heed to the monarch’s suggestions? These were some questions that have been boggling the minds of the Nepali intellectuals of late.

Those who know Prime Minister Thapa better say that Thapa will not resign. He will neither resign on his own nor he could be forced to do so by the King. It is widely said in Nepal that resignation and Thapa go parallel and never meet together. This means that in Thapa’s political vocabulary, there does not exist any word as such called resignation. If he is not resigning on his own and that he would not even heed to King’s suggestion for a resignation then what would happen to the country given the agitating parties continuing agitation whose one of the demands is of Thapa’s replacement by a more dynamic and energetic prime minister who could relieve the country from its present ailments and malaise.

Yes! Thapa can resign or will resign if there is a miracle or else it appears remote that he will rsign and facilitate others to replace him.

The King’s hands too are tied. He has little maneuvering political capabilities now. More so Thapa is a different stuff than Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Chand resigned, a modest personality indeed despite his miserable failure in handling the then scheme of things in the country. However, this doesn’t apply to Surya Bahadur Thapa. He has remained a conspiratorial brain and he would continue to be that ad infinitum. The King can now not force him to resign as Thapa at the moment is a full fledged Prime Minister and the King has to act as per his advice as his cabinet is vested with all the executive powers which the Chand government was not. The King as per the constitution, if he really is committed to the democratic system and he is on that count for his several speeches have only maintained that he is truly a democrat and that he will never cross his constitutional limits, can in no way force a prime minister to resign unless the latter does so on his own. Thapa is having a political shield around him and his chair which is safe and sound. If Thapa is sacked summarily, he would create havoc in the country and he would be the one to go against the King who offered him the post. That Thapa can go to any extent against the Nepali monarchy has already been witnessed in the Panchayat era and hence if the present monarch expects some thing tangible from his would tantamount to hoping against hope.

Thapa advocated liberalism in the bygone era which is what allowed him to maintain a close relation with the now agitating parties. But in essence he is more than the hard liners. He is a hard liner as and when he is in power and becomes liberal when out of power. He accomplishes both the jobs with such finesse that even his close aides remain askance watching his chameleon political behavior.

That Thapa will not resign gets reflected from the manner he provoked his junior minister Kamal Thapa to express his outbursts wherein he recently said that the agitating parties’ in effect were a group of frustrated power lust people. According to minister Thapa the agitating parties slowed down their agitation the moment they sensed that the King upon his return from London would heed to their demands. This statement from junior Thapa does hint that senior Thapa will not resign in haste as is being expected of him. However, what he would do at best is to appeal the King for the revival of the parliament and once the parliament is in existence, he would love to seek a vote of confidence with a hope to provide continuity to his rule. Senior Thapa is already in the move in this regard and would try his best to include leaders from various political parties and form a government that is close to an all-party government prior to the revival of the parliament. If he fails in this scheme then and then only he would appeal the King for the restoration of the now dissolved house.

This means senior Thapa will continue as Prime Minister till the end of the approaching festivals. He would occupy the seat in Singh Durbar unless a strong tremor jolts his chair.

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