By Our Reporter
People are gradually losing their faith in the present government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre. When the government started opening one file of corruption to another, sending some powerful leaders to jail in the fake Bhutanese refugee cases, in its first attempt, people had hoped that the government would uproot the social evils. Later on, the government resumed the investigation into the Lalita Niwas land scam, which also received appreciation from the public. But when the government spared some powerful leaders of the Maoist Centre in the gold smuggling cases when it transferred the police officers investigating the fake Bhutanese refugee case and the judge whose verdict sent Bal Krishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi to jail, apparently on the pressure of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse Arzu Rana, public lost the trust on the government.
Even the Maoist leaders and cadres who were encouraged by the anti-corruption drive launched by the government in the past have been disappointed in recent weeks. Prime Minister Dahal and his men have now only a single mission—to remain in power as long as possible by not going against the interest of Deuba couple and amassing wealth.
Obviously, Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli were opposing the anti-corruption drive launched by the Dahal-led government when their powerful leaders—Khand and Rayamajhi—reached jail in the fake Bhutanese refugee case, and the investigation started directed towards Arzu Deuba. The case of fake Bhutanese case brought Deuba and Oli together to criticise Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha. When the involvement of the Maoist leaders was revealed in the gold smuggling case, the government became totally defensive agreeing to do anything to please Deuba, because if Deuba wants, the government collapses at any time.
Oli too, who has been threatened to open the case of Giri Bandhu Tea Estate of Jhapa, was searching for a clue to weaken the anti-corruption drive first and the government later, and the close connection of the Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Barsha Man Pun with the Chinese nationals involved in the smuggling of gold from Hong Kong served as a good opportunity for Oli to make his mission a success.
Now when both Deuba and Oli have succeeded in foiling the anti-corruption drive of the government, there is fear among the Maoists about whether Oli and Deuba will come closer and form a new government, because only the formation of a coalition government of NC and UML in Koshi can avoid the snap polls in the province.
These developments have made the continuity of the Dahal-led government volatile. Meanwhile, powerful NC leaders including Gagan Thapa have started exerting pressure on the party leadership to withdraw the ministers from the government. As the Maoist Centre is a minnow party with just 32 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives, it cannot do anything to save its government on its own unless the NC or UML becomes ready to back it, only to prevent others from reaching the government.
Moreover, the national economy is in bad shape with the businessmen and industrialists exerting pressure on the government for correction in its several policies. And such policy correction may be impossible unless the government is strong.
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