Shuffling the deckchairs?

Abrupt political realignments are not uncommon in Nepal. After the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ withdrew support to K.P. Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)-led government last week, another such rearrangement appears to be on the cards. A no-confidence motion is due to be taken up in Parliament on July 21, and the numbers are stacked against Mr. Oli. The opposition Nepali Congress led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and the UCPN(M-C) have worked out an alternative arrangement to share power. Mr. Prachanda will lead the government for nine months, and Mr. Deuba will then take over for the next nine months until the scheduled parliamentary elections. If, as expected, the UCPN(M-C)-NC coalition manages to form the government with the support of smaller Madhesi parties and other groups, this would mark the 24th government in the 26 years since the first Jan Andolan led to the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of parliamentary democracy in Nepal. The creation of a new republic in 2008 has not changed things — there have been eight prime ministers in eight years. Mr. Oli’s government had barely managed to get a grip on the reconstruction effort after the devastation of the 2015 earthquake and the instability in the federal arrangement after the turmoil in the Terai with Madhesi groups protesting against the new Constitution.

The promulgation of a Constitution took place in a peculiar set of circumstances. Following the second Constituent Assembly elections, the “status quoists” — political leaders across parties who were not part of the second Jan Andolan in support of a federal republic — led the process of promulgation. Mr. Oli, one such politician, had never showed any enthusiasm for a truly federal Nepal and chose to ignore the demands of Madhesi, Tharu and Janajati groups that sought greater decentralisation of power. With Mr. Prachanda’s volte face on this issue, a marriage of convenience made it possible for Mr. Oli to remain in power with the support of a motley group in Parliament comprising Maoists and former royalists. Hushed in this power game were the issues the Maoists originally stood for: recognition of the less privileged sections through a federal restructuring of the state, and redistribution. With little movement on these issues in the past year, a fresh start can be possible if Mr. Prachanda and Mr. Deuba commit to fulfilling some of the federal demands and to redouble post-quake reconstruction efforts. Given the Nepali political class’s track record, there is bound to be cynicism. It is up to the two to prove the cynics wrong.

Important Words

1>Abrupt -- Sudden or unexpected

2>Realignments --the switching of voter preference from one party to another

3>Coalition-- temporary alliance for combined action

4>Monarchy -- a form of government with a monarch at the head

5>Devastation -- a greate destruction or damage

6>Turmoil -- a state of disturbance and confusion

7>Promulgate -- promote or make widely known (an idea or cause)

8>Peculiar -- different to what is normal or expected strange

9>Status Quoists--a person who has a tendency of shirking the responsibility of taking a decision which will have the effect of changing the status quo.

10>Status Quo -- a situation which exists at a particular point of time.

11>Cynicism -- an inclination to believe that people are motivated puerly by self interest; scepticism, doubt,mistrust

12>Cynics --a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honourable or unselfish reasons

13>Hushed -- A very quiet or still

14>Motley -- Incongruously varied in appearance or character, disparate