Editorial
Intense jockeying in parliament after the supposed business with party conventioneer concludes was only to be expected now that each party convention has firmly put their leaderships at the helm. Especially the Millennium Challenge Compact comes to focus simply because the streets demand it. Deadlines beckon. And, the fence-sitters are jittery because of the streets. For its current champion, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, government seats, new alignment possibilities and the elections become the lone means of juggling a hot potato that must either be dropped or swallowed. Mainstream media support alone can no longer drown a groundswell of opposition on the MCC where even his party and allies at best hedge on discussions over the basic credentials of an American donation that is being enforced upon the people sans the national consensus sought in the proviso of parliamentary sanction. Establishment fears that whole and sole endorsement would trigger a slide on the streets are genuine. Looks like we are heading for a confrontation yet to be defined in direction and leadership although there is a glimmer of recognition that the option must favour constitutionalism where the option lies in the re-introduction of the 1990 constitution. The agitation, nevertheless mind you, appears to have some agreement on the whiff of the scrapping of the current constitution and there is an agreement somewhat that the Delhi 12 point agreement that ushered in the current change was wrongly premised.
After the now perfunctory gathering in front of King Birendra’s statue on Wednesday (yesterday), the scene will now shift towards King Prithwi Narayan Shah’s statue within a fortnight hence where street throngs swell since seemingly hesitant patriots drew national attention to the fact that the popular movement then sought republican populism by tearing down his statue and, since, curtailed a national holiday observing his anniversary. This year too will seek to bring about cohesion among agitators in a unified program to proceed to the statue united. While last year’s observation saw the largest gathering as yet albeit failing the attempt at cohesion, it will seem primary that, participating numbers have swollen maybe, the diversity in crowd leadership will be further accentuated. One source already is the announcement by the RPP’s recently defeated chairman Kamal Thapa who has announced that he will begin his protest movement on that day. The other may be seen in yet another party wanting to begin their longstanding opposition to the current constitution by commemorating the day with a program launched at Hetauda in Makwanpur from whence King Prithivi perceived his national unification program. One must await how these and other demonstrations will reflect upon Prithivi Narayan Day which has by now been a nationwide observation despite the government’s deaf ears to demands for a national holiday on that occasion.
Regardless, what is for sure is that the streets see no signs of abetting and, instead more fuel is being added to it given the aberrations in all wings of the system. Tenuous as the patchwork government has been, a belligerent parliamentary opposition prompting early elections is certainly a difficult proposition when systemic options are being cajoled from the streets when the other wing of the system, the judiciary has also been mal-functional. The MCC certainly has come at a juncture encouraging systemic implosion. The race for a change, constitutional election vis-a-vis systemic change, is on. How the stage is being set is worth a glance in the least. The search for optional leadership notwithstanding.
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