Narayan Manandhar
“Aba ke hunxa?” or what next? is hanging over the heads of every Nepali.
With relatively young MPs, fresh blood in the parliament, with a single party commanding near two-third majority, senile politicians being kicked out, definitely, we are into the a cusp of change - for better or for worse. Since we are already at the rock bottom, there cannot be worse than this. An alternative to Oli will not be worse than Oli.
The Gen-Z euphoria is over. I still wonder what happens to Gen-Z Council that Madam Sushila Karki Government agreed with the Gen-Z reps or with the report of the Karki Ayog Janch-booz Committee, she cannot postpone further, after extending its tenure for three times. What happens to the agreement signed with Durga Prasain? Will they end up as lame duck excuses?
Settling schadenfreude feeling
Gradually, the political dust is being settled. Oli has accepted people’s verdict and his shameful defeat. Gagan must be thinking of his gargantuan problems. The political critiques are now focusing on ground realities; doing cool calculations of what Balen sarkar can do and cannot do, rather then feeling schadenfreude with the shameful defeat of conventional political parties. There are now demands for Gagan’s resignation. Two more swords are hanging over his head. One, the pending court case related to him calling Special General Assembly that ousted Deuba. Two, General Assembly to be held in Baishak (April/May), deciding on new NC leadership. This scribe is still waiting for Enter the Deuba type scenario and have a strong belief that political instability in the country to originate, not from the disarray of communist forces, or muted rajabadis or a bunch of hooligans running the government, but from the intra-party wranglings of Nepali Congress Party.
When the rubber meets the road
One distinct feature of careers of celebrities or of those seeking to be celebrities is that there they may earn excessive rewards (money, reputation etc.) but their life span will always be too short. This needs to be noted. This overly ambitious lady called, Sumana Shrestha, may remorse in isolation, leaving RSP for nowhere to go; or Mr Kulman Ghishing kissing the dust for abandoning RSP at the last hour, but their actions and in-actions can be observed only in a longer term perspective. Balen is already into administrative and technical hitches in forming the government. It is amusing to read you cannot call Constitutional Council meeting because CJ is on leave before his retirement and you cannot appoint new CJ without first having Council meeting. What kind of bind is this?
We have observed splits and unification in every political parties - from NC, UML, Maoists to rajabadis. History may not or need not repete. I, fundamentally, believe RSP splitting into three factions. They are already into a technical hitch, that is, you cannot be a PM without first becoming the leader of the parliamentary party and this calls for amending the Constitution, not of the constitution of the country, but of the RSP first. What happens to the pending court cases of RSP president? Isn’t it like Gagan Thapa situation? Well, haa-hoo party is capable of taking any type of haa-hoo decisions, but, definitely, there are thinking heads within RSP that is going to ache for a while.
Driving an over-loaded truck
Someone commented in the social media, “it will be like driving an overloaded truck”. I would add: extremely overloaded truck, driving fast in a rough, winding, mountainous road like ours.
What you do when the pie is limited and the demands are unlimited? You have already made some public commitments and now, it is time to fulfill? Anybody heard an Italina word called “raccomandazzele” or something like that? Basically, it refers to a situation of the mother bird carrying worms to feed its babies but all the hungry babies open their mouths wide seeking attention of the mother to feed them. That is an Italian system of corruption. In Nepal, we say, “aba hamro palo” to loot his country.
How you make a choice between feasibility and desirability? How you going to grapple with contentious issues like federalism, hinduism, monarchism, secularism and inclusion? How you deal with the agenda of good governance and anti-corruption when the president himself is deeply embroidered in a quagmire of cooperative scandals. I suppose, political vendetta will not do the trick.
Already there are desperation among our Southern and aerial neighbors to extend congratulations even before official declaration of results or formal oath taking.
I am not so much into geo-politics. When there is a deficiency in the immune (internal) system, it is natural for external germs to attack the organ. Definitely, the acts of balancing, joggling balls in an extremely volatile situation is not going to be an easy job. It is like, as we say in Nepali, chewing falam ko chiura.
With Mister Terminator leaving KMC there was news that KMC people had a big sigh of relief but it is time for nation to suffocate.
