By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
Domestic Affairs
In a parliamentary democracy, the role of the opposition is crucial in controlling the government of the day and putting a check on its excesses.
Unfortunately, at the present juncture, the combined political opposition in the House of Representatives finds itself in a pathetic state.
The infamous Kathmandu Swamp is in full play – characterized by nepotism, favouritism and rampant endemic corruption.
The government’s whole energy and ‘oxygen’ is taken up with the three major running scandals:
- The Lalita Niwas Landgrab Scandal
- The Fake Bhutanese Refugee Affair
- Gold Smugling at the Tribhuwan International Airport scam
The government seems unable or unwilling to proceed further and the opposition is just satisfied in observing the whole tamasha.
Instead of fulfilling its duty, the main opposition CPN-UML is even hindering the work of parliament.
External
All educated Nepalese are aware of the nonsense that the UML Chairman K.P. Sharma Oli is capable of speaking.
It seems that the party and the chairman have no capable and experienced experts advising them, especially in the realm of foreign policy.
Oli now maintains that there was no need for Nepal to side with Ukraine in the Russo-Ukraine War as Nepal’s immediate neighbours – India and China – chose to stay neutral on this issue (My Republica, Aug. 5).
This is indeed a very simplistic, immature and short-term viewpoint of a complicated subject matter that does not take Nepal’s long-term national interests into consideration.
Nepal is not a great power like China and India – they have their own interests to follow.
In addition, Nepal follows its own independent foreign policy.
Oli doesn’t have any sense of history or geography. It seems his knowledge is restricted to the juvenile platitude:
‘history is about chaps, geography is about maps’!
Nepal did the correct thing by voting with the majority of the comity of nations in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) condemning Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
Like the majority of world’s nations, Nepal:
- Upheld the purposes and principles of the United Nations
- Followed International Law
- Protected the rules-based international order.
Foreign policy also entails an element of ethics. When Russia rains down death and wanton destruction on an innocent people, any other country, its government and its people cannot just do nothing in the name of ‘neutrality’.
It just shows how warped Oli’s mindset is – comparable to that of ‘big brother’ Narendra Modi from a neighbouring state – and completely out of tune with the rich Hindu-Buddhist tradition of compassion.
And unlike Oli’s fallacious thinking, Nepal’s voting record in no way compromised its policy of dynamic non-alignment – which in no way orients itself on Beijing or New Delhi, but remains equi-distant from both, and judges each issue on its merits.
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
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