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Contrary to atheistic beliefs, I claim that we have God who gave some moral principles. Flouting these will bring disaster to a country as well as individuals.
We need a Nepali Congress (NC) president to break the present political deadlock. The president as a constitutional head with the army’s loyalty cannot do anything significant, but s/he will ensure that the NC gives full support to the future Maoist-led government. If the NC gets the presidency, three months after the CA poll we may finally have a new cabinet of ministers. My argument for NC presidency bases itself on political morality.
Contrary to atheistic beliefs, I claim that we have God who gave some moral principles. Flouting these will bring disaster to a country as well as individuals. Even the agnostic Indira Gandhi once claimed that righteousness makes a nation great. God determines righteousness. As to his presence, one British author quipped, "The fact that people deny him so often makes me convinced God exist!" The lesson? Pretending atheism to adopt unethical political opportunism makes the nation suffers. Thus, our present situation.
The Maoists as the biggest party have every right to make a government. They haven’t succeeded so far. The Madhesi parties have disrupted the CA to date (July 2) under the erroneous slogan of "one Madesh one Pradesh". The UML-Maoists have failed to convince our Madhesi MPs to allow the CA to meet, and initiate the procedure for the election of the president. Why? Because the second largest party, the NC, has played a half-hearted role. Some NC MPs support the "one Madesh one Pradesh" stand, not because they believe in it but to snub the UML-Maoist coalition. Because the leftist parties have wrongly sidelined the NC, our country makes no progress towards a government.
Morally, the Maoists can’t take away the presidency from the NC, the second biggest party after the CA poll. If the largest party chooses the post of the executive prime minister, the second party NC should get the opportunity to select the president.
If consensus and political consultation had prevailed, the NC should have appointed a president by now. Though sheer opportunism, the Maoists duped the NC until Girijababu tabled the motion that Nepal become a republic (May 28), dumped him, and denied his party the presidency. Having also ditched political consensus, the Maoists decided to settle the issue through the CA. Their candidate wouldn’t get elected as president without a majority in the CA. So, through an unholy political alliance with the UML, the Maoists cobbled together a CA majority to select a non-NC person of their choice.
But at what cost? Due to Madhesi MPs’ disruptions, the CA has not yet met. The UML-Maoists have a non-cooperative NC in the opposition. The NC behaves like a lioness robbed of its cub (the presidency), and has already shown its reluctance to tow the UML-Maoist line against the Madhesi CA members’ demand. The NC’s Youth Group, the Tarun Dal, vows that it will bring down a Maoist-led government within its first 100 days.
The continuation of the UML-Maoist coalition at the expense of the NC can only spell disaster. Girijababu and the NC played a pivotal role in getting the Maoists out of the jungle to the negotiating table. The 2006 peaceful agitation led by the NC did in 19 days what 10 years of Maoist killing of 15000 people couldn’t do. We now have an exploitative monarchy out and the desired republicanism in. However, the unholy Maoist-UML alliance has riddled the seven party cooperation that brought our country thus far. In this background, the only solution is for the UML-Maoists to swallow their pride and allow the NC its rightful, moral role in selecting the president. Reasons?
First, the anti-NC stance of the UML-Maoists has brought the present "sans government" situation, even three months after the CA poll. The UML backed the recent student bandas, the transporters’ strikes, and the filthy garbage-politics that created the impression that Koirala’s government can’t do anything. The YCL remained in the background, leaving the UML to do the dirty job. That got PM Girija to announce his resignation. To what purpose? PK Dahal (I prefer this name which portrays the wishy-washy guy to "Prachanda" that means "courageous", a trait I don’t see in Dahal) has not yet found a president to whom Girijababu can render his official resignation. Obviously, shouting through the microphone that losers can’t claim the presidency is easier than appointing one.
Second, the UML-Maoist coalition is already showing its cracks. Dahal found Madhav Kumar Nepal not to his liking as president, not enough of a rubber-stamp. His proposed Ram Raja Prasad Singh is invalid enough to do the Maoist bidding. However, because he was behind the bombings that killed a number of people in 1985, he hardly has the moral aura or charisma. When the Maoists didn’t accept Madhavji, the UML leader Jhalanath Khanal retorted that Matrika Yadav become the PM instead of Dahal!
If UML had remained neutral, had not allied itself with the Maoists by sidelining the NC, had advocated NC’s right to presidency, it wouldn’t have found itself in the bottomless pit with the Maoists as at present. Then, the UML as the third party would have clinched the speaker of the CA; and all three major parties would have been happy. The UML-Maoist alliance is a conspiracy; and has no right to exist. Only a working coalition with all the 25 CA parties will now earn legitimacy.
Third, a senior UML leader KP Oli himself is against the UML-Maoist alliance. Salvation from the present impasse lies in accepting Oli’s advice that the NC should select the president. Critics can disagree; but they will have to suggest a better option that will have the NC cooperating fully.
This article was publsihed in TKP in July 4 2008 Newer...
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