Can Maoists Form a New Government?

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Yes, at any time Maoists can form a new government if you sell the principles and values of democracy and buy the legislators waiting for sale to the highest bidders, or buy Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala making his daughter Sujata Koirala Deputy Prime Minister or buy KP Oli at the price he asks for. All these things are the current political games of the parliamentary system. Probably, you want to prove it a wrong system holding the legislature hostage. It might not be the best method to prove the parliamentary system is wrong.

Immediately after the resignation of Prime Minister Prachanda on May 4, 2009 protesting the unconstitutional act of the ceremonial President directly writing a letter to Chief of Army Staff Rukmangad Katuwal fired by the Prime Minister for not following the order of the government, you must have thought that some of the leaders of the political parties would come to you and apologize to you for going to the ceremonial President and asking him for taking the unconstitutional step and then request you for continuing to run the government.

If they are really politically and ethically very sound and follow the principles and values of democracy they would have certainly come to you and apologize to you for going to the ceremonial President and asking him to overstep the Interim Constitution. Then, the President would have revoked the letter, and possibly, the President also would have apologized to the Nepalis for over stepping the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. Then, the Prime Minister would have enforced the decision made by the Cabinet on firing the undisciplined Army Chief and all political parties would have followed the consensus politics and Nepalis in general would not have suffered from the current political deadlock and the results such as insecurity on roads and even at home, high price-rise of daily necessities and chaos in the regular lives.

You have seen that the so-called coalition partners are not for following the basic principles and values of democracy but for taking any benefits available from the prevailing political situation at any point in time. Immediately after you have resigned from the Prime Minister on the moral ground, they have engaged in buying and selling the legislators even breaking up the one political party called Madheshi Peoples’ Rights Forum (MPRF) into two, and creating widespread dissidents in the Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML), and dividing the leaders into one group for following the basic principles and values of democracy and another disregarding those things for personal benefits.

Democratic principles and values have been the main victims of the unscrupulous politicians. Disregarding the democratic principles of the rights of the second largest party in the legislature to form a government, the NC leaders have supported the CPN-UML leaders to form a new government. The CPN-UML leaders in turn have also ignored the democratic principles and values, and asked Madhav Nepal defeated in two constituencies in the election held for the Constituent Assembly-cum-legislature in April 2008 to form a government. The result is the person rejected by the people has been the Prime Minister. He claims that he has been duly and democratically elected Prime Minister. Such things could happen because Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal has been a great flip-flop and could not only follow the democratic principles and values but also his own decisions. So, he led other leaders of the eighteen political parties to the ceremonial President for asking him for saving the job of a soldier disregarding his own support for firing the undisciplined soldier.

Majority of the Central Working Committee members of the NC have been against joining the Madhav government and Acting President Sushil Koirala openly has said that he would resign from the position in the party if Sujata Koirala were made a minister. However, as usual, NC President Girija Prasad Koirala has not only send his followers to join the Madhav Government but also made his daughter Sujata Koirala Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Later on, father Koirala has been furious with Prime Minister Madhav Nepal at not making his daughter Sujata a Deputy Prime Minster. So, she did not join the Prime Minister Madhav Nepal’ entourage in his India visit in August 2009. Father Koirala has been ready to pull out of the Madhav Government and join hands with the Maoists if you make the daughter Koirala Deputy Prime Minister. So, you have a choice of forming a coalition with the second largest party and form a new government if you want to sell your democratic principles and values and buy the power from father Koirala.

Fearing father Koirala would pull the party out of the government, the Central Working Committee of the NC has passed a resolution that it would not leave the Madhav Government. However, it remains to be seen whether the decision of the Central Working Committee could overrule the desire of the father Koirala: the President of the NC party. If the historical events were any guide then the Central Working Committee would not be able to override the rule of the President of the party.

Some of the Maoist leaders have been saying that the parliamentary leaders have been creating an environment conducive to impose a presidential rule in Nepal; others have been saying that the parliamentary leaders have been for imposing a military rule. Is it possible that anybody imposing presidential or military rule in the country? Politically, Nepalis have moved very far ahead; so, nobody will be able to impose any sorts of rule other than a democratic one.

Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has said that the Maoists have their own government or their party is a government itself. Saying so, you have stepped back to your previous position. Another Maoist leader C.P. Gajurel has even said that the Maoists will capture the power on the day the current Constituent Assembly is dissolved if anybody dares to do so. Who has the rights to do so or who can actually do so? Then, is it not an imaginary phobia?

Let us assume you capture the power but how long you can keep it. The Ranas captured it and kept it for 104 years, and then Mahendra did it so and imposed the Panchayat system that had lasted 30 years, then came Gyanendra Shah and captured the power and kept it for 15 months. At the time we have President and Vice-president of the Madheshi origin and we made the person of the ethnic origin the Chief of Army Staff, these are the beginning of building a New Nepal. How could anybody capture the power and keep it for long in this situation?

None of the small parties except for one or two would have been in the legislature if the system of appointing some members to the legislature following the votes the political parties have received has not been adopted. So, most of the leaders of the small parties have not been directly elected by the voters so they do not feel they are accountable to the constituents. They are for taking the benefits of the system as much as possible. So, Madhav Nepal himself not elected has to make most of the unelected persons ministers to keep them supporting him. So, most of the unscrupulous people even from the Panchayat period have been back to power. This is the current parliamentary system of governance in Nepal.

The Maoists have been saying that they are not for the parliamentary system of governance, as it corrupts the politicians, and the corrupt politicians abuse the power; however, they are for the multi-party democratic system of governance. The current government has proved it to some extent. The current executive is not directly accountable to the people but to the bunch of unscrupulous legislators supporting the Prime Minister. As long as Madhav Nepal keeps those legislators happy, he is safe. So, he would try to keep his position safe by hook or crook.

Considering the current functioning of the government, the Maoists might be right saying the chief executive should be directly elected to make him/her accountable to the voters not anybody else; the legislature should be only for making laws not for electing the chief executive.

If the Maoists want to do away with the parliamentary system of governance then they need to stop holding the legislature hostage in protest against not allowing them to hold debate over the unconstitutional move of the ceremonial President, and adopt a new method of doing away with the current parliamentary system. What you need to do is to go to the people and educate them in how the current parliamentary system of government has been functioning and how you want to change it into a presidential or any other system of governance better than the current parliamentary system of governance.

First, you start with the unconstitutional move of the President. Not only tell the people the ceremonial President directly writing a letter to a soldier for saving his job goes against the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 but also show them that it has gone against the basic principles and values of democracy. Tell the people whether the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal needs to take such an unconstitutional action to save the job of a soldier, whether such a person deserve to continue to be the President and if not then why not remove such a person from such a highest position. Then, the people will have better knowledge of values and principles of democracy and people will understand that in fact the President has acted against the Interim Constitution of Nepal and has made himself subject to punishment.

Second, the Maoist legislators have registered a resolution demanding debate over the unconstitutional move of the ceremonial President at the legislature. The Speaker has rejected the debate over it at the legislature. You have been saying that it goes against the democratic principles and values. Why don’t you take this issue also to the people, and show them why it goes against the rights to take up any issues at the legislature. If you do so then your cadres will have practice of working in the democratic environment, thus you change them from the fighters to democrats.

You have seen the so-called parliamentary political parties have no concern for the democratic values and principles; they just want to grab the power and enjoy all sorts of privileges that come with the power rather than enforce the rule of law. Your doubt about the authenticity of the parliamentary system of governance might be valid. You need to take it to the people and convince the people of its irrelevance, and educate them in the new system of governance you think is good for Nepalis. To this end, your legislators immediately need to stop holding the legislature hostage and let it run its business smoothly. The NC, CPM-UML and other legislators including yours have already proved that the legislature could be a helpless hostage of legislators of any political party. Nepalis do not want such a legislature.

To create a new strong legislature, you need to work for writing a new constitution and then hold general elections for a new legislature hopefully that would not be a helpless hostage of some dissident legislators forgetting all about he President’s unconstitutional move.

If you continue to hold the legislature hostage it will not help to enforce democratic principles and values but will certainly create chaos. Yow will not be able to force the President to correct his unconstitutional actions in view of majority of the current legislators not following the democratic norms but their ambition. If you want to sell the democratic values and principles and buy the power you can do so immediately. So, many leaders including father Koirala are available for sale for buying the benefits from the positions they have achieved so far.

If you want to stick to basic principles and values of democracy then it is time to work for those things rather than holding the legislature hostage. Time has been running out very fast for writing a new constitution; it will soon be late if you don’t move fast to write a new constitution. The current concern of all for writing a new constitution should be the first priority of your party rather than anything else if you believe in democratic values and principles and if you want to save the country from the political chaos.

Time has been running short so you need to move forward fast not step back and capture the power through the democratic means not by any other means. To do so, you have to follow the democratic principles and values and then enforce the rule of law forcing others to follow the democratic principles and values. To form a new government is not a difficult thing to do you can do it at any moment if you want to sell your democratic values and principles and buy the power with the current strength you have at the legislature. If you engage in the buying and selling business at the legislature then you will not be different from Madhav Nepal or father Koirala or any other bunch of unscrupulous politicians ruling the most of the political parties.

September 17, 2009.