Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Stays On-Part XIII

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The opposition protest against the declaration of the elections to a new Constituent Assembly (CA) launched particularly by the NC and CPN-UML has surely threatened the rule of law, as it goes against the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nepal on holding elections to a new CA if it could not promulgate a new constitution by the end of its term and categorically stopped the parliament from extending the term of the CA. In addition, the opposition wants to topple the current government by the street forces rather than going to the people asking for the fresh mandate. The opposition leaders have urged the president to step in to stop the government from holding the elections to a new CA and replace the current government with the government of theirs’; however, the president is very cautious not to repeat the past mistake this time.

After the dissolution of the CA, all political parties have lost the mandate they had received from the people in the elections to the CA held in April 2008. Now, the only alternative available to the political parties is to go to the people and ask for a fresh mandate. However, the opposition guys such as President of NC Sushil Koirala and Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal have not only unwilling to go to the people for the fresh mandate but also have been telling the people that the declaration of fresh elections to a new CA is unconstitutional. The declaration of the fresh elections to a new Constitution is the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nepal. Saying the fresh elections to a new CA ruled by the Supreme Court of Nepal unconstitutional, President of NC Sushil Koirala and Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal are saying that the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nepal is unconstitutional; so, it is surely the contempt of court. None of the so smart legal guys that immediately go to the court for anything the government does if they don’t like, now does not go to the court for such a contempt of court committed by the leaders of the former second and third largest parties in the dissolved CA.

Going against the fresh elections duly set by the Supreme Court of Nepal, the so-called leaders of the opposition parties have not only committed the contempt of court but also threatened the rule of law. They held a mass rally at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on June 8, 2012 to protest against the fresh elections to a new CA the Supreme Court of Nepal had ordered, and demand the current government to quit the office, as the government set the date for holding the fresh elections to a new CA on November 22, 2012. These political guys need to tell the people what rule has guided them to hold such a massive mass rally at so high cost to protest against the elections declared by the Supreme Court of Nepal, and oppose the government that simply wants to follow the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nepal. Certainly, these politicians are not for following the rule of law but trying to force the government out of office by the forces on the streets. If they continue to indulge in such out of law activities they will surely bring political chaos in Nepal and create an environment conducive to grab the power by force and impose a dictatorial rule.

One thing the mass rally held on June 8, 2012 has done is to bring former Pancha leaders such as Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chanda, Pashupati Shumsher Rana and finally Kamal Thapa to the political stage and into the limelight once again. These former Pancha leaders have a chance to tell the people that they are once again back on the forefront of the Nepalese politics. Most of the political analysts know that these Pancha guys have the political backgrounds of being against democracy. By the coincidence or by the design, these former Pancha guys’ political fortune shines whenever democracy is in crisis. In the mid 1990s, these guys even had chances of taking power, as NC and CPN-UML leaders in turn took these Panchas on their shoulders and put one after another in the office of prime minister. This time, too, most probably, the NC and CPN-UML leaders want to repeat the history of 1990s putting democracy in crisis, as they have been making efforts on bringing the constitutional president to be an active president and putting the fresh elections to a CA on hold. That is what exactly an environment conducive to former Panchas to make a comeback. However, one thing the NC and CPN-UML obviously don’t understand is Nepalis are living in the 21st century; they are not the same Nepalis of mid 1990s. So, Nepalis would not allow anybody to put democracy in crisis.

Despite the pressure put up by the opposition political leaders, the president has not followed their advice to fire the current government. Politicians such as Madhav Nepal, and Jhalanath Khanal of CPN-UML went to see the president at his official residence and pleaded the president for firing the current government, as it set the date for holding the elections to a new CA. Then, a large number of former lawmakers belonging to the NC also went to the president urging him to step out of the constitution and remove the current government and form a new government under the NC. Unlike in the past, President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has been very coolly taking the advices of the political leaders to topple the current democratically elected government for forming a new government. The president knows how serous would be to fire the current government, as firing the democratically elected government goes against the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. So, the president has been asking the political parties to build a consensus on resolving the contentious issues.

Civil society leaders and members of the business community also separately met with the president. The civil society leaders have attempted to push the president to cross over the Interim Constitution and do something to prevent the current government from holding the elections to a new CA. Thus, some of the civil society leaders also are not for following the rule of law. Members of the business community went to see President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and the president of NC asking for the political stability for creating an environment conducive to doing the regular business, as the opposition political parties are tending to create political instability opposing the fresh elections to a new CA.

On Monday, June 4, 2012, a delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) met with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav at his official residence Shital Niwas, and apprised him of the impact of the ongoing political uncertainty on the business sector, and sought the role of the President in creating a business-friendly environment in the country, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 5, 2012 writes.

On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, a delegation of the Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) met with President of NC Sushil Koirala at his residence in Maharajgunj, and informed Mr. Koirala about the need for closing their businesses due to frequent shutdowns called by the political parties, power outage and extortion in the name of different organizations, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 6, 2012 writes.

Some political leaders have been for reviving the dissolved CA, however, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has clearly stated that no provision is made in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 to reinstate the CA. Asking for resurrecting the CA, not only the opposition leaders think that they are above the law but also Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda also believes that a consensus of all political parties on any matter is above the law. ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012 wrote that speaking at an interaction held by Tamang Rastriya Mukti Morcha in Kathmandu on Saturday, June 9, 2012, Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda hinted at the possibility of reinstating the dissolved CA if political parties could agree on an identity-based federalism and a form of governance before the date of the new election. This statement clearly indicates that Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda believes a consensus of political parties is above the law. Such tendency of the politician of Prachanda’s stature thinking anything above law certainly threatens the rule of law. Not only Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda should not say such things but also needed to stop others from going against the rule of law. Disregarding the rule of law as Prachanda did, senior leader of NC Sher Bahadur Deuba also told the prime minister that one of the options the prime minister had was to revive the CA when Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai went to see Deuba at his residence to build a consensus of political leaders on the contentious issues. Stating no provision was made for reinstating in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai was for following the rule of law.

Speaking at the interaction event held by the coalition of UCPN-Maoist and UDMF in Kathmandu on June 5, Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda said that there was no alternative to holding the elections to a new CA; however, he hinted at the possibility of reinstating the dissolved CA and said that if the parties reached an agreement, constitution could be promulgated by reinstating the CA, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 6, 2012 writes.

At a press conference held by Revolutionary Journalists’ Association (RJA) in Pokhara on Friday, June 8, 2012, Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai said that the Supreme Court of Nepal could again reject if efforts were made to resurrect the CA. ‘The Parliament was reinstated in 2063 BS (1995) following the People’s Movement by using power rested on the King as per the 2047 BS (1990) Constitution. The present Constitution has not bestowed such power on anyone; so, the CA revival was not possible,’ ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 9, 2012 quotes Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai as saying.

Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda has also said that integrating the PLA members into the Nepal Army, the Nepal Army has already been transformed into a republican army; so, the Nepal Army would not agree on supporting the president to topple the current government as suggested by some people according to the news in ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012. So, some people want to make the president dictatorial taking the power from the elected government using the power of the Nepal Army obviously forgetting Nepalis also have been living in the 21st century and are ready to fight against any dictatorial person no matter how powerful s/he might be.

Most probably, in response to the Prachanda’s statement on the position of the Nepal Army, in a statement released on Thursday, June 14, 2012, the Nepal Army said, "Apart from being the national army of all the Nepali people the Nepal Army has made its non-political character clear to everybody. The NA will remain under the legitimate government and will only follow the legitimate orders of the government that are in the interest of the country and the people," according to the news posted on nepalnews.com.

Speaking at the mass meeting held by his party at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on Saturday, June 9, 2012, Chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) Kamal Thapa said, "If the government fails to hold the polls to CA, they should establish the 1990’s constitution and constitutional monarchy and declare Nepal a Hindu state;" "We will bring him (Gyanendra Shah) from Nagarjun to Narayanhity," according to ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012. Mr. Thapa is another political clown that goes around madly telling the people for bringing his boss Mr. Gyanendra Shah from Nagarjun to Narayanhity. Mr. Thapa should acknowledge the generosity shown by the Nepalese political leaders to his boss allowing him to live in Nagarjun otherwise he would have been behind bars for the political and economic crimes he committed during his reign. Even Mr. Thapa was supposed to be behind bars for killing so many people during the People’s Movement of 2006 but the generosity of the Nepalese politicians made him able to go around talking such a nonsense using the money he had taken from the state treasury during his term of office as the home minister. During the 19 days of the People’s Movement of 2006, Mr. Thapa had taken half a million rupees each day for suppressing the people’s movement. Nepalis need to bring Mr. Thapa to justice for going against the people’s movement, and asking to reinstate the monarchy.

Speaking at the ninth convocation ceremony of B. P. Koirala Health Sciences Academy in Dharan on Saturday, June 9, 2012, Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai said that the anti-federal elements had been instrumental to dissolve the CA without promulgating a new statute; the first CA could not be saved due to the increased influence of anti-CA elements within it according to ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012. Most probably, the elections to a new CA would cleanup the anti-federal elements.

Speaking at a function held by the Tamu Media Persons’ Organization in Pokhara on Saturday, June 9, 2012, Standing Committee Member of UCPN-Maoist Dev Gurung said that the main political parties were responsible for the failure of the CA promulgating a new constitution, as they were least interested in delivering any constitution; so, pro-federal leaders and parties should lead a new government; indigenous people are the true federalists; they should lead a new government, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012 writes.

Talking to journalists in Biratnagar on Saturday, June 9, 2012, Secretary to UCPN-Maoist CP Gajurel denounced the announcement of the fresh CA polls done by his party Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai as a bluff; he claimed that the dream of the Prime Minister who announced the polls by blocking all constitutional measures and of the chairman who gave such suggestions would never be fulfilled, as holding of polls was impossible; drafting a new constitution through a round table conference and promulgating it from the elected parliament would be the best option, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012 reports. If Mr. Gajurel has a little bit of political maturity he would have never talked about a new constitution through a round-table conference, as no provision is made in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 for holding a round-table conference. So, Mr. Gajurel’s suggestion is to push the country to political chaos and use such a situation to grab the state power by any other means possible. Clearly, Mr. Gajurel is not for the rule of law but for grabbing the power. The fiery statements of Mr. Gajurel suggest that he might be one of the infiltrators into the UCPN-Maoist to split it otherwise he would not so aggressively engage in attacking his party bosses.

President of NC Sushil Koirala was very happy that the mass rally held on Friday, June 8, 2012 to protest the fresh elections to a new CA was a success. He thanked all participants in the mass meeting and the media for airing the mass meeting and disseminating news about it, and urged the democratic forces to unite to safeguard democracy, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 10, 2012 writes. Going against the democratic norms and values for holding a mass rally against the fresh elections to a new CA, Mr. Koirala did not feel a shame to tell the democratic forces to protect democracy.

At a mass meeting held by the NC and CPN-UML including other 20 small parties at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on June 8, 2012 to oppose the fresh elections to a new CA and to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai, leaders of political parties said that the dissolution of the CA and the declaration of the fresh elections to a new CA by the government were against democratic norms, constitutional values and national consensus and demanded the government to quit the office, and blamed the Maoists for trying to capture the state powers by creating a constitutional and political vacuum, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 9, 2012 writes. Obviously, these so-called political leaders don’t understand what are democratic norms and values, as their opposition to the fresh elections to a new CA is a flagrant violence of democratic norms and values. Concerning the capture of the state power by the Maoists, they don’t need to say so, as the Maoists have it already. If they want to get the power back from the Maoists they need to go to the polls for fresh mandate from the sovereign Nepalis. Also setting the resignation of the prime minister as a pre-condition for starting a consensus politics and resolving the constitutional and political crisis, they made a mockery of their understanding of democratic norms and values. Political analysts say that this is the political nonsense anybody can see in Nepal.

While leaders of the so-called 22 political parties were speaking against the fresh elections to a new CA at Tundikhel in Kathmandu, Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai spoke at a convocation of the graduates of basic training of the Armed Police Force (APF) Inspector batch of APF Training Mahabidhyalya at Lampat in Pokhara and said that the government was all set to hold the fresh elections to a new CA scheduled for November 22, as the nation needed a people’s fresh mandate for a new CA; and he was confident of the APF playing a significant role in holding the new elections successfully, as they did in the elections to the CA dissolved recently, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 9, 2012 reports.

Continuing his efforts on building a national consensus on the current political situation by holding discussions with political leaders and former prime ministers, Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai went to the residences of NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal to convince them of fresh elections to a new CA is the only way to democratically break the current political stalemate; the Prime Minister had met with former prime ministers, and intensified his talks with the leaders of different political parties about the new situation arising in the country after the dissolution of the CA and announcement of CA elections to be held on November 22, 2012, ‘The Rising Nepal of June 7, 2012 writes. However, the prime minister would be hardly successful to convince the politicians having bias minds against democracy. These political guys belonging to the NC and CPN-UML neither want the elections nor a consensus but only the power by any possible means without going to the people, as going to the people means sure defeat.

Speaking at a press conference held at the party headquarters in Lalitpur on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, Chairman of Madhesi People’s Rights Forum-Democratic holding the Home Ministry portfolio Bijay Kumar Gacchedar said that there was no alternative to the next CA elections scheduled for November 22, 2012, and stressed the need for the political consensus among the major political parties to hold the CA elections; and blamed the NC and CPN-UML leaders for dissolving the CA without delivering a new constitution, as they did not change their stand on the state restructuring and federalism; and stated that federalism without identity and the constitution without federalism were meaningless; so, the Madhesi and ethnic communities would not accept federalism without identity at any cost, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 7, 2012 writes.

Sensing the possibility of shutdowns and mass rallies elsewhere in Nepal, as the opposition parties have planned to protest against the government demanding Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai’s resignation possibly hitting the business sector, members of the Nepalese business community have intensified their meetings and discussions with the government and the main political forces urging for ending the political turmoil. On Wednesday, June 6, 2012, a delegation of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and urged him to play a central role in resolving the ongoing political and constitutional deadlock for creating a favorable business environment in the country, and then NC President Sushil Koirala and made him clear the adverse impact of the prolonged political transition on the business sector and the entire economy. During the meeting with NC President Koirala at his residence at Maharajgunj, the delegation urged him to end the current political and economic confusions keeping the communal harmony intact, and also drew the attention of Koirala to the strikes, bandhs (shutdowns) and the extortion terror, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 7, 2012 writes.

NC leaders belonging to the ethnic group have threatened to quit the party, as the party leadership has been against identity-based federalism. A delegation of around 122 NC leaders including formers Janajati (ethnic) Constituent Assembly members of NC and heads of the party’s sister wings representing indigenous nationalities met with President of NC party Sushil Koirala on Wednesday afternoon, June 6, 2012 and submitted a memorandum demanding the party respect the sentiments of its Janajati (ethnic) leaders and their aspiration for identity-based federalism; former CA member and Chairman of NC’s Adivasi Janajati Sangh Indra Bahadur Gurung has said that it has become increasingly difficult for Janajati (ethnic) leaders of NC to continue to be in the party after its leadership unilaterally decided to go against identity-based federalism, which was one of the reasons for the failure of CA to promulgate a new constitution according to the nepalnews.com.

Speaking at an interaction on “Nepal’s Current Political Scenario and Future Roadmap’ held by the ‘Centre for Consolidation of Democracy’ in Kathmandu on June 7, 2012, President of NC Sushil Koirala has said that his party is not against federalism but is opposed to single-ethnic-identity-based federalism because it can lead to ethnic clashes in the country; the current political mess is the creation of the UCPN-Maoist that has continued politics of deceit and treachery for which they have been badly exposed to the national and international communities; the current movement against the UCPN-Maoist is a movement of democracy against the Maoist autocracy; however, there is no alternative to consensus, collaboration and dialogue, HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE reports on June 7, 2012. Reading this statement, anybody could feel how inconsistent the NC leader Sushil Koirala is in his political stand.

Vice-president of NC Ram Chandra Paudel said that the NC was ready to extend the tenure of the CA even by imposing a state of emergency and went to the Prime Minister’s Office for final dialogue for the same on the night of May 27 but was rebuffed by Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda, HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE reports on June 7, 2012. “This is a fight of democracy versus Maoist autocracy. We are witnessing Maoist autocracy after the demise of monarchy,” HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE on June 7, 2012 quotes Paudel as saying.

Senior Advocate Harihar Dahal said that there was no alternative to CA elections for two reasons: firstly the Supreme Court had clearly said there should be fresh CA elections and secondly, it was a mandate of the Janaandolan of 2006. Dahal said that the other two options: resurrection of the CA and formation of a Constitutional Commission were not practical. He argued that revival of the CA was not possible because it contradicted the Supreme Court verdict. “If we form a Constitutional Commission and tell the next parliament to put a seal on a constitution prepared by the commission, it will curtail the right of the sovereign parliament,” HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE on June 7, 2012 quotes Dahal as saying.

Leaders of NC and CPN-UML taking with them the leaders of other small parties are determined to use any tools available to bring down the current government and create political chaos putting democracy to test. Leaders of some 22 opposition political parties including the NC and CPN-UML submitted a memorandum to President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav on Tuesday evening, June 12, 2012, calling for the president intervening in the government moving to introduce various ordinances without building a national consensus, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 13, 2012 writes. Following the meeting with the president, Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala has said that they have apprised the President of the government unilaterally introducing the budget for the FY 2012 and running the administration through ordinances rather than resolving the political and constitutional problems through consensus; so, the president should refuse to issue the ordinances recommended by the prime minister, according to the news in ‘The Rising Nepal.’

At the meeting with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, Finance Minister Barshaman Pun had to apprise the president of the preparation made for the FY 2012 budget, President Dr. Yadav suggested the Finance Minister to build a consensus with the political parties on a full-fledge budget on time, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 13, 2012 quotes the finance minister as saying. "I informed the President about the preparations being made by the government to introduce a full-fledged budget through an ordinance. I also apprised him of the efforts being made to reach a consensus among the political parties; as the Finance Minister, I assured the President that the government will do sufficient homework in forging consensus on the economic agendas while introducing the new budget despite the ideological differences among the parties," ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 13, 2012 quotes Finance Minister Pun as saying.

Speaking at the function held to open a tax office in Dhulikhel of the Kavre district on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, Minister for Finance Barshaman Pun has said that his ministry has made efforts on bringing the budget for the FY 2012 on the political consensus, and has claimed that most of economic indicators have been good indicating economic development could be made even in the transitional period, ‘The Himalayan Times’ writes quoting RSS: the state-run news agency on June 13, 2012.

Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has protested the advice given by the economists to President Ram Baran Yadav on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 that only a small-size budget for the FY 2012 should be introduced because of the lack of political consensus and absence of parliament; and stated that the economic experts were affiliated to different political parties and had no common views on the budget, and assured of introducing a full-fledged budget through an ordinance, according to the news on nepalnews.com.

Both the government and the opposition have attempted on convincing the international community in Kathmandu of what they are doing is right. On Monday morning, June 11, 2012, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai told the representatives of 27 countries residing in Kathmandu that the government had no choice but to go to polls for fresh mandate from the people after the term of the CA automatically ended on May 27, 2012; the political parties believing in democracy should not oppose the process of seeking mandate through a fresh election; building a political consensus of major parties is a must for holding elections on schedule and to sort out the legal hurdles to the elections; so, he assured the foreign diplomats that the coalition government of UCPN-Maoist and UDMF would leave no stone unturned in building a consensus so that the election could be held as scheduled, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 12, 2012 writes. CPN-UML held a dinner party for foreign diplomats residing in Kathmandu at the Gokarna Resort on Tuesday evening, June 5, 2012 to convince them of why the CPN-UML opposed the dissolution of the CA and the fresh elections to a new CA, the news posted on the nepalnews.com on June 5, 2012 stated. According to the news, Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal read out a five-page statement to about 20 ambassadors (US ambassador did not show up) from the different countries participated in the dinner and blamed the coalition of the UCPN-Maoist and UDMF for the demise of the CA. Some political analysts said that the CPN-UML leaders must have used the money stolen from the national coffer when Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal were prime ministers for holding such a dinner party. Mr. Khanal had done nothing during his six-month stay in office. Mr. Nepal had done everything to steal the state money during the 20-month stay in office.

At the time when the opposition particularly NC and CPN-UML were doing everything possible to stop the government from introducing the new budget for the FY 2012 through ordinance, the Prime Minister was determined to implement his plans on the economic development; during the meeting with cadres of the UCPN-Maoist at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar on Monday, June 11, 2012, Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai said that the government was fully committed to accelerate the activities of economic development and prosperity and urged the party rank and file to support the same; Prashanta Lamichhane aide of the Prime Minister quoted the prime minister as saying, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 12, 2012 writes. He also said that resources for the projects of national pride would not be short, and made it clear that the government was determined to complete such projects as planned. At the same time, the Prime Minister inspected the 456-MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower declared as a national pride project located at Lamabagar of the Dolakha district.

At the meeting held at the official residence of the Prime Minister, the ruling coalition of the UCPN-Maoist and the UDMF called upon NC and the CPN-UML leaders to stop the protests and join the consensus government; and decided to counter the protests mobilizing masses if the NC and UML continued protests defying the fresh elections to a new CA, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of June 5, 2012 writes. The coalition leaders blamed the NC and CPN-UML for dragging the constitutional president to step in to oppose the fresh elections to a new CA. The 19 political parties supporting the government and the coalition of UCPN-Maoist and UDMF decided to hold discussion with the civil society leaders the dissolution of the CA and the situation developed by it to the fresh elections to a new CA.

The end of the CA did not leave any other political alternative except for going to the fresh elections to a new CA for crafting and promulgating a new constitution. However, the opposition leaders having thrown themselves to the streets despite the prime minister offering them to join the government went against democracy. The opposition leaders have been going after the president and urging him to step out of the constitutional limit and take an action to fire the current government. In doing so, these so-called democratic leaders clearly demonstrate they are either ignorant of democratic norms and values or they ignore those democratic principles for their own selfish motives. In this political circumstances created by the opposition not following the democratic norms and values, it is hard to predict where these opposition leaders would lead the country to. If these opposition guys would succeed to push the president to take actions going beyond the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, the question is whether the current coalition of the UCPN-Maoist and the UDMF would continue to abide by the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, if not, then the country again goes back to civil conflict. If that happens whether the president would manage to remain in office or would face unimaginable fate.

June 15, 2012