Skip to main content

Nextdoor Nepal: In reverse gear

Written by Yubaraj Ghimire |
Maoist chief Prachanda swallowed his pride when he gave up his earlier claim to permanent leadership of the High Level Political Committee (HLPC), accepting that its stewardship would be transferred to other parties on rotation. But even in retreat, he inflicted a blow on the leadership of the governing coalition — the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML) — by securing major concessions, like the transfer of public property under the possession of Maoist cadres since the insurgency to their names. As per the five-point agreement signed between the chiefs of the three parties — the NC, UML and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) — last Wednesday, the state will also pay two lakh rupees in “compensation” to the families of Maoists and pro-Madhes activists killed or wounded.

The NC and UML had to concede to these demands, as the UCPN-M and its allies had not only disrupted parliamentary proceedings for two months, delaying the passage of the budget, but also threatened to go on a nationwide “struggle” demanding ethnicity- or identity-based federalism. But the agreement is only one more among many such deals that have seen poor implementation since April 2006. Eight years down the line, political parties have not succeeded in defining the model of federalism and governance, or of the electoral system and judiciary. Nor have they been able to define the relationship between religion and the state. Prachanda secured the post of the HLPC chief just when his party colleague and former prime minister, Baburam Bhattarai, in his capacity as the chairman of the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee, failed to bring the parties together on the contentious issue of the constitution.
However, Prachanda stepping in to take charge of the peace process, which is linked to constitution-writing, does not inject any fresh hope. There are serious threats that may come in the way of forging a consensus. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party- Nepal (RPP-N), the fourth- largest in the House, has threatened to obstruct proceedings over not being included in the HLPC. But its agenda got a shot in the arm as 32 prominent NC leaders asked their party chief and PM, Sushil Koirala, to ensure that Nepal is declared a Hindu state. In their assessment, Nepal’s shift to secularism — listed as a major achievement by the Maoist, NC and UML leaderships — was dictated more by external forces.
Bhattarai, more than others, perhaps saw the use of gradually channelling people’s frustration through what the Maoists earlier called “reactionary and regressive” politics, with the slogan, “With secularism, federalism and republicanism achieved, it is time to go for an economic revolution.” But he appears to have been overtaken.
The fast-changing political equation doesn’t seem to threaten Koirala alone, who came to power promising he would quit once the first draft of the constitution was ready on January 22. It also threatens the top leaders of the NC, UML, UCPN-M and the Madhesi groups, who acted freely in the name of constitution-writing with full support from the international community but with no accountability. Now, the radical changes they had introduced are under threat.
SOURCE : http://indianexpress.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nepal the world’s best value destination for 2017 : Lonely Planet

KATHMANDU:  Nepal has been ranked as one of the best countries in the world to visit in 2017, according to Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel list. Publishing the travel list for 2017 on Tuesday, the world’s renowned travel guide has said that Nepal is the hottest destination for all budget travellers while the country came out on the fifth place among top 10 countries of the list “Nepal is the world’s number one destination in terms of service and value,” the Best in Travel 2017 list which showcases the top 10 countries, cities, regions and best value destinations for next year, added. The ‘travel bible’ notes that natural disasters can’t even keep Nepal down for long. “The 2015 earthquakes caused devastation, but what is most striking from a traveller’s perspective is not how much was lost but how much remains.” Landmark temples crumbled, but others came through with just the odd tile out of place, and whole swathes of the country escaped serious damage, includin...

Sanghiya Samajbadi Party formed under Rai

KATHMANDU, NOV 22 - The crusaders of federalism based on single identity on Monday announced the formation of a new party under the leadership of former CPN-UML Vice Chairman Ashok Rai. The new party Sanghiya Samajbadi Party was announced at a programme organised at a function organised at New Baneshwor in the Capital. Most of the leaders and cadres of the new party are from the UML and some are also from the Nepali Congress. The 98-member central ad hoc working committee includes eight vice chairmen, one general secretary, three deputy general secretaries and five secretaries. Bijaya Subba, Durga Mani Dewan, Prem Krishna Pathak, Bir Bahadur Lama, Rakanm Chemjong, Hemraj Rai, Mohammad Rijwan Ansari and Gopal Thakur have been appointed as the vice chairmen for the party whereas Rajendra Shrestha is the general secretary. Likewise, Ajambar Rai Kangmang, Radha Timilsina and Norsang Lama are the deputy general secretaries while Mina Gurung, Horilal Ch...

Kaliprasad Rijal, Senior Lyricist

 It's interview time : Moment of interview with Kaliprasd Rijal.His famous songs are, BIHANA UTHNE BITTIKAI, JHAREKO PAT JHAI BHAYO, CHARI LE TA CHHADERA GAIHALI, etc. Most of his songs were sang by Narayan Gopal, famous singer of nepal.  Remembering his old days  Young kaliprasad, with his wife  Searching his old photos  Photo pose with legend lyricist  Kaliprasad in his office IT'S ME