HELLO NEPAL

The Himalayan Times 17 August 2016 Fatal bus accident It never can be any pleasing news when we hear about people travelling to and from their homes being killed in road accidents. Monday’s Kavre bus accident that killed 27 persons and injured 39 seriously “27 killed in Kavre bus plunge” (THT, 16 August, Page 1) was very unfortunate. They lost their lives either by their own fault or by the careless driving of drivers. So far, thousands of passengers were killed in different parts of the country where the condition of roads especially in the hilly areas are extremely dangerous. Road accident occurs in the plains also due to reckless driving. However, drivers are not alone to be blamed for the dreadful road accident. The bus in Kavre was carrying more than 80 passengers. Some of them were even sitting on its rooftop which should have been prevented by the traffic police assigned along the highways. Unless, the police personnel, who are responsible to be vigilant...

The Himalayan Times 12 August 2016 Elections There was nothing to hide about the reason of sudden fall of Oli-led government. Once the CPN-MC realized Oli’s power hunger that made him undermine the gentlemen’s agreement which had taken place between him and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, it decided to pull out of the coalition government. All the previous UML led governments had also faced the same fate due to its internal feud. Both Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal’s governments had hardly survived for one year due to power games played by them. This time, Oli is to be blamed for his downfall due to his egoistic and arrogant working style. It is really pity to see the senior leaders continuing to play self-centred power politics rather than for the nation and its people. Now, the Dahal-led coalition government backed by NC and other fringe parties is at the helm. He has started making several promises to the public to be fulfilled during the next nine months. Let us hop...

The Kathmandu Post 7 August 2016 ANOTHER CHANCE It was wonderful to go through John Narayan Parajuli’s article at a time when Prachanda will have another opportunity to prove that his party had fought a ten year war with the state to emancipate the nation and its people from years of a harsh life and suppression by autocratic regimes (“Dahal’s redemption” 3 August, Page 6). Prachanda could not able to prove his capabilities to do so during his earlier nine month long premiership. He failed completely to live up to public aspiration. Considering his background, may be he was not fully politically matured to run the government. He should have now learned his lessons and understood the democratic political process to effectively and efficiently run the state for the next nine months. There are, for sure, many challenges ahead for his coalition government during this transitional phase. The most important issue is to address the political and constitutional grievanc...

The Kathmandu Days 31 July 2016 DIFFICULT DAYS The time has come now for the new coalition government, supposedly to be led by Prachanda, to be sincere and serious in addressing the political and constitutional issues raised by the Sanghiya Gathabandhan, a larger alliance comprising the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) and Janajati forces. Both the CPN MC and the NC’s senior leaders should waste no time and should immediately sit with the disgruntled forces to bring them on board and settle the problems once for all. The SLMM has clearly put forward its position about joining the new government (“Morcha puts caveat to join govt” 27 July, Page 1). The Oli led government had missed this opportunity due to prime minister’s anarchical working style. He continued demonstrating empathy towards the agitating forces and showing his intention of tiring them out. If I am not wrong, this was one of the reasons among others for his government’s ouster. His domineer...

The Himalayan Times 27 July 2016 Another coalition The clock has started ticking for the three major parties, after the President gave them one week’s time, to choose a new Prime Minister (PM) on the basis of political consensus “Prez gives parties one week to find consensus PM” (THT, 26 July, Page 1). There was some hue and cry situation in the parliament after PM Oli decided first to face the no confidence motion registered by CPN-Maoist Centre and NC. However, he changed his mind later and tendered his resignation. Time has come for the Big Three to show their political acumen keeping the nation and its people at the centre stage. So far, they have not shown any political sincerity towards addressing the national interest just because of their egoistic and self-centred politics. And, judging by their past political attitudes and existing political polarizations among them, the formation of a consensus government seems to be a distant possibility. The n...

The Himalayan Times 20 July 2016 Ambiguity The so called big III have again started dirty power politics at a time when they were supposed to be serious about the implementation of the new constitution. Blaming each other for not following the spirit of the new charter has openly surfaced in the current political situation. CPN (MC) was not happy with the way the Oli led government was running the country and used to threaten to leave the coalition government. Finally, it decided to do so after NC’c assurance to support it to form the new coalition government under its leadership. So far, Oli does not seem arithmetically able to garner a majority in the parliament, however, has started playing dubious roles. He has been claiming that there is no clear constitutional provision for forming a new government which has been the crux of the constitutional problem inviting political confrontation between the ruling and the opposition parties interpreting article 298 of ...

The Kathmandu Post 15 July 2016 POWER POLITICS AGAIN It was unsurprising to know that the big political parties have once again started playing the old dirty game of numerical power politics causing another political uncertainty in the country. The implementation of new charter has become more uncertain after this dramatic turn of events. CPN (Maoist Centre) was finding it difficult to change its political position for some time considering its unhappiness with the performance of the Oli led government. Finally, it decided to withdraw its support to the government with immediate effect (“Maoist Centre pulls out of govt” 13 July, Page 1). It is natural, in a parliamentary democracy, to see change of government based on its performance. It did not seem that the Oli led government was performing well in the last nine months. It had failed to implement the reconstruction programme, control black marketeering and take the initiatives of implementing the new constit...

The Kathmandu Post 7 July 2016 IS IT REALLY NECESSARY? The necessity and formation of a consensus government may be the need of the hour considering the implementation of the new constitution successfully (“Maoist Centre ‘not to rush’ govt formation” 6 July, Page 3). Senior leaders of CPN (Maoist Centre) have been publicly talking about this for some time although their party is one of the major coalition partners in the Oli led government. Is it necessary or even possible for the big three to forge consensus on this issue? If they agreed, it would be the most desirable form of the government at this juncture when the implementation of the new constitution has been a vital concern. It has definitely been necessary for the government and all the political parties to hold three tiers of elections within the next one and half year based on the provision made in the new constitution. Is it possible to do so under the current circumstances? Unless the Local Body Re...