By Our Reporter
The 300th birth anniversary of the Great King Prithvi Narayan Shah was marked across the country by paying tribute to him and organising various programmes.
In Kathmandu, President Bidya Devi Bhandari, former King Gyanendra Shah, other leaders and commoners reached Singha Durbar and garlanded the statue of the Great King, the unifier of Nepal.
Former King Gyanendra reached Singh Dubar with a rally while RPP chairman Rajendra Lingden also reached there to pay tribute to the unifier of Nepal.
Former King Gyanendra had also issued a message on the occasion stating that it was useless to run after any ‘ism’ if it cannot safeguard national sovereignty and address the problems faced by the people.
However, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba did not pay tribute to the unifier of Nepal.
Although President Bhandari issued a message on the occasion, the Prime Minister did not. The President also reached Dahachowk to pay tribute to Kalu Pande, the aide of King Prithvi Narayan Shah during his unification drive. When the Prime Minister gave no importance to the day, it was also reflected in the official media as Gorkhapatra gave the picture and news of the President-attended event only in the inside pages on Wednesday.
Outside the valley, the day was marked by laying the foundation stone for erecting a statue of the Great King or unveiling the ready statue. Many local levels gave holiday in their areas on the occasion.
However, the government that gives public holidays on every festival day, did not think it necessary to mark the day. The indifference exhibited by the government, especially Prime Minister Deuba, towards the builder of the nation showed how our leaders tend to serve their foreign masters by undermining the roles played by a national hero like Prithvi Narayan Shah.
Had there not been the Great King, the existence of a sovereign Nepal could have been impossible, but a Prime Minister of the same independent and sovereign country hesitated to pay tribute to the Great King. It is unacceptable to a nationalist. Moreover, PM Deuba undermined National Unity Day when India is building a road inside Nepal’s territory. Neither he opposes the Indian move, nor does he feel proud to mark the birth anniversary of the king who created the country where he is now serving as a prime minister!
NA elections: Five parties vs UML
Altogether 43 candidates of nine political parties are contesting the elections of the National Assembly scheduled for January 26. However, the elections for the 19 seats of the Upper House are actually held between two groups of the political parties—the ruling alliance of five parties and the main opposition party—the CPN-UML.
The ruling parties have divided the 19 seats among them and fielded their candidates accordingly while the CPN-UML has fielded its candidates for all 19 seats. The UML is not likely to win any of the 19 seats if the voters of the ruling parties follow the instructions of their parties. The UML looks stronger only in Province 1 if it forged an alliance with the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party. But till now the two have not yet forged such an alliance. Instead, UML chair KP Sharma Oli has already admitted defeat by stating that the election results would be against their expectations.
If the UML does not win a single seat, it will be losing eight members of the Upper House this time. Of the 20 seats which are falling vacant on March, 19 will be elected and one will be nominated by the President.
NC has filed candidates in six seats, the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Maoist Centre have filed five candidates each, Janata Samajwadi Party (Nepal) two and the Rashtriya Janamorcha one.
Deuba-Oli talks: UML’s bottom-line speaker’s resignation
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli held one-on-one talks on Saturday.
It was the first meeting between the two leaders after Deuba was appointed Prime Minister on July 13 last year.
Prime Minister Deuba had reached the Balkot-based residence of Oli for the talks.
Although both PM Deuba and UML chair Oli did not reveal the details of the issues they discussed, other leaders close to Oli said that the two leaders talked about the issues of House obstruction and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
The UML has been obstructing the House proceedings from the previous session accusing Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota of conspiring in the split of the UML. The Speaker had not published a notice regarding the expulsion of 14 UML lawmakers by the party, and the lawmakers later formed CPN (Unified Socialist) splitting the party. Sources claimed that the UML chair told the PM that the party would continue to obstruct the House until Speaker Sapkota resigns. Likewise, Deuba was told that the UML has not changed its stance on MCC.
The UML has been claiming that the party will make its stance on MCC public once the government proposes its endorsement.
Surprisingly, two big parties—Maoist Centre and the CPN (Unified Socialist) of the ruling coalition are against the MCC while PM Deuba has made it an issue of prestige because the agreement on MCC was signed when Deuba was leading the government in 2017.
When Deuba is determined to pass the MCC from parliament, the present coalition is likely to end unless the Maoist Centre and CPN (Unified Socialist) become ready to endorse the pact. UML chair Oli is also using the MCC to break the coalition and the talks that began between the two leaders almost six months after the formation of the coalition government under Deuba are likely to head in that direction. Oli had also tried to endorse the MCC when he was leading the government in the past. But he was unable to do that when former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara did not forward the MCC bill in the parliament. Present Speaker Sapkota is also against the MCC.
Earlier, NC leader Ram Chandra Paudel, who is also the coordinator of the mechanism of the five parties had met with Oli. Deuba had reached Balkot at the advice of Paudel.
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