By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
The present government is on shaky legs and is attempting to stay in power by any means possible.
The people in general are disgusted with the antics of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Prachanda’s government but can find no way to get rid of it. It has long lost the mandate of the people, if not the mandate of heaven.
Unfortunately, the next general election is too far off to boot them out.
Dahal-Prachanda’s government is at best an aspirational or “to do” administration. It regularly announces what it is going to do for the betterment of the people, but these are merely castles in the air – but no concrete plan to put into action.
The notable political activist Dr. Govinda K.C. has become so frustrated that he has undertaken a fast unto death until Dahal-Prachanda resigns – for not undertaking past commitments –and the country can breathe a sigh of relief.
Even his former comrade-in-arms has come down heavily on the Maoist supremo. Former prime minister and coordinator of the Nepal Samajbadi Party, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has said recently that as long as the current unstable political system remains, political stability and appropriate political leadership will not develop.
It is necessary to change the political structure for the development of the country, he added (THT/The Himalayan Times, May 13).
Bhattarai is indeed right on track by diagnosing the severe malaise afflicting the country – he is only prescribing the wrong medicine!
He advocates changing the political system by creating a directly elected president, a directly elected chief minister in the constituent states and a parliament elected fully by proportional representation – each single measure calculated to cause mayhem from top to bottom in the political system.
If the country is going to get anywhere, the current system and the Constitution must be scrapped.
If one needs any proof, just consider the ongoing parliamentary circus which makes a mockery of the Westminster model.
It is clear that the dons of the major political parties will not voluntarily concede defeat; but they will have to bow down to people’s power in the streets. Rajendra Lingden’s Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has the vision and the means necessary to make this happen.
We need an interregnum with a temporary technocratic government composed of experts in their fields and which will also prepare for the next general election. The new parliament will also draft the new constitution.
The new parliament and the new government will also put two pressing questions to rest – the sovereign Nepalese people will decide in a referendum whether to restore:
- The Hindu State
- Constitutional Monarchy
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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