Editorial
And, Dr Govinda K.C. concluded his 19th fast unto death with another agreement with the government. But, that is that. Almost everybody is asking whether the government will fulfil the agreement. As it is, the government broke eighteen previous agreements. The environment of disbelief interjected almost all questions on the agreement. K.C.’s supporters are optimistic as they should be. But the lay watcher awaits K.C.’s twentieth fast. After all, one does wonder that an agreement should be struck after twenty-five days of torture if the demands were agreeable. What struck one was that this was one of those very important systemic aberrations. Agreement at midnight!
Saturday saw Kathmandu youths take up a motorcycle rally condemning the republic and demanding the monarchy. The police seemed surprised at the strength of the numbers and must have made impromptu decisions to taper it down. First, they clamped down with the odd and even rules almost halving the numbers. Then they released the bikes on the road claiming that COVID’s distancing would only allow ten bikes to be released at a time. As if that were not enough, they played havoc to the rally route by diverting many in the rally away from the rest on grounds of traffic control. The rally was impressive nevertheless and even more so the large numbers were youths and bereft of the usual activists and political agitators. The promise of continuity after the festivals as this one has been termed just a ‘trailer’ has set one talking since Youtube coverage offset the blank in the mainstream media.
The week also stirred another hornet’s nest with the system’s political egghead (and emerging gadfly) Dr Baburam Bhattarai claiming that his prime ministerial rivals K.P. Oli, Prachanda and Sher Bhahadur Deuba all shared billions in spoils from the Budhi Ganadaki project agreement. What is more, he claims he has proof of this. Given the former prime minister’s current status in Nepali polity as an almost has been, the claim only raises more questions than answers. A shrugging public used to the kleptomania in our polity is not surprised that all three are on the take. What they are wondering of is why Bhattarai chose this time to spill all.
Perhaps the biggest spoof of the week was in the COVID front. A bankrupt government appears to have run out of options in dealing with the spiralling numbers of the affected. Having not done its homework despite the early warnings, the government is running out of hospital beds, ventilators and what have you. A desperate government now asks the public to stay away from hospitals until critically sick. The pandemic has exhausted the public. What is scary is that the government is close to giving up. Inundated by news and views on Corona, the government has done little to assuage that relief is at hand. Instead, they are telling the people that the disease is getting out of hand.
People’s Review Print Edition
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