By P.R. Pradhan
It seems that the present Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) government is also walking along the same old path travelled by the traditional political parties. When the top leaders of the RSP stated that they were not against the present federal system, it became clear that they could do nothing except occupy power and stage stunts in the name of change.
We believe that only a strong and prosperous nation can fulfil the aspirations of the people. A nation can become strong and vibrant only if its leadership is farsighted. Besides, the political system should be compatible with the soil and circumstances of the nation. The present political system has been imposed by Indo-Western power centres to weaken the country. The political system is so expensive to operate that the government needs foreign funding to meet its general expenditure. Besides, the present political system is undermining social harmony by intensifying conflicts among different ethnic communities. We are convinced that EU countries, various American NGOs and the Christian lobby in India jointly imposed the present political system to weaken this historically rich and culturally diverse nation.
The Greyzone report makes much clear about what it describes as the American deep state’s grand design.
We are convinced that the nation’s economy should be strong and vibrant, along with a sustainable political system. We should introduce a political system that can function on domestic revenue alone, leaving a substantial balance for investment in infrastructure development projects. At present, the government needs to borrow externally merely to meet the operating costs of the existing federal structures. There is little or no funding left for investment in development sectors.
We must not forget that our foreign-funded political leaders, by abandoning the Hindu kingdom, introduced a secular federal republican system, which, in our view, is against the welfare of the Nepali people. We have witnessed many anomalies since the nation adopted the present political system. Still, some leaders, popularly described as foreign puppets, are misleading the people and urging their foreign-backed friends to remain united to institutionalise what they consider an anti-Nepal political system.
The debt burden is increasing every day. It has already crossed Rs. 29 trillion 73 billion. Now, the interest installment is higher than the principal installment. This is not a positive trend. If the debt continues to increase, the nation could soon face a debt trap. Therefore, we need to think in time about the crisis ahead.
The government has highlighted an increase in exports. However, a major portion of the reported export growth has come from palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and similar products imported from third countries by paying in US dollars and then exported to India in Indian currency. These are not genuine exports in the conventional sense. If the Indian government imposes restrictions or changes its tax policy on such exports from Nepal, the trade could be adversely affected. The government should not mislead the people by presenting such trade as a sign of genuine growth in Nepal’s productive exports.
To conclude, we strongly recommend the immediate abandonment of the present expensive political system and the urgent restoration of the 1990 Constitution, even if this requires cutting unnecessary and unproductive expenditure. We should not trust those leaders who claim that the present political system is beneficial to the people.
The global trend of providing grants has already changed. Meanwhile, the nation is passing through a vulnerable situation due to the impacts of global warming. Just recently, we experienced what has been described as a “Himalayan tsunami”, killing more than 1,500 people and leaving around 6,000 people missing. Furthermore, the nation has suffered extensive damage to infrastructure, and reconstruction will cost trillions of rupees.
Now, we have no time to wait for or depend on foreign grants. We must manage investment funds ourselves. Therefore, by cutting down non-productive expenditure, Nepal should mobilise the necessary funds for infrastructure development.
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