Three Main Mistakes Of Former President Yadav

Three Main Mistakes Of Former President Yadav

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Former President Dr Ram Baran Yadav said that the then three major political parties such as NC, CPN-UML, and CPN-Maoist-center did not listen to him to his advice not to be in a hurry to promulgate the Constitution causing the current political chaos. Yadav did not say that he had made three major mistakes as a president that had been the main reasons for the political confusion after the declaration of Nepal a federal democratic republic. Yadav had been wearing the Nepalese past official outfits prescribed for any State employees elected or appointed as long as he was a president, then he went back to his traditional clothing.

Speaking at the memorial functional held to mark the 95^th anniversary of the leader of Nepali Congress Mahendranaryan Nidhi on February 24, 2017, former President Yadav said that he had advised the three major political parties to wait for some time to promulgate the Constitution but they did not listen to him; and the result has been the current precariousness political situation, the Radio Nepal morning news stated on February 25, 2017.

Dr Yadav also knew that not only he as the president wanted to delay the promulgation of a new constitution but also the neighbor India also did sending a special envoy to Nepal to stop the promulgation of a new constitution on the last day but the most matured Nepalese politicians did neither listen to the former president nor to the Indian envoy, and bravely promulgated the new Constitution. So, Nepalese have a new Constitution today otherwise who knows Nepal still might have been in the making of a new constitution. Dr Yadav needed to say whether it would bring political stability or instability or chaos or confusion without a new constitution.

Dr Yadav had committed at least three grave mistakes as the president.

First as he himself had said that it was his mistake to promulgate a new constitution in 2015. If he had thought so why he did not take a stand on not promulgating a new Constitution. He could do so even facing the impeachment. The major three political parties could impeach him for not following the recommendation for promulgating a new constitution, and he could have a great name in the history of Nepal as the first president and also as the first impeached president if he were to take the stand on not promulgating a new constitution.

Currently, Yadav has been the retired president. He has nothing much to do. He could live on the so nicely paid retirement and the house rent and so on at the cost of the poor thirty million Nepalese. He had time to attend the memorial event and so on and tell the public what his advices had been to the political parties and the government, too. However, he did not say what his mistakes had been. He would have been a great man if he were to say so.

Yadav had been a very smart guy otherwise he would not have been the first president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. During his tenure of the president, he never took off the former official outfits prescribed for the State employees thus becoming the one hundred percent Nepalese State official. However, after becoming the former president, Yadav went back to wearing his traditional fashion because wearing the official costume might be uncomfortable to him, too. He has every right to wear any dress but no rights to go undressed as some ‘nanga babas’ did and do, too.

Yadav’s behavior has been parallel to any mobile vegetable vendors that bring vegetables in wicker baskets carried on a bicycle from one house to another. Most of the vegetable vendors negotiate the prices of vegetables and then agree on them with the customers. He weighs the vegetables and then he bills the customers the amount at his own prices.

The second grave mistake Yadav had committed was to appoint Lokman Singh Karki to the chief of the Commission on Investigation into Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in May 2013 despite the opposition of the common folks in general and civil society leaders in particular. He knew that Karki was not eligible for such a responsible job but the then chairman of the council of ministers: Khil Raj Regmi pushed it hard for the president to appoint Karki early in the morning, and immediately administered the oath of office to Karki with the tight security at the presidential residence.

Dr Yadav had publicly stated that he would not appoint Karki to the chief of CIAA but he changed his mind overnight, and did probably against his will appoint Karki to the chief of the CIAA. This single action had tainted Yadav, and had polluted the civil administration as everybody though if Karki could be the chief of CIAA without meeting the qualifications prescribed in the constitution why not others. So, the civil, police and the army have probably hundreds of officials with the qualifications inadequate to their jobs if they have not have fake certificates.

Yadav must know under whose pressure or at what amount Karki got recommended and then got appointed. The then Constitutional Council recommended Karki for the chief of CIAA. Then, chairman of the council of ministers Khil Raj Regmi pushed hard to appoint Karki to the chief of CIAA in absence of the parliament despite facing the powerful opposition of the civil society and the Nepalese media.

The Supreme Court has proved that Karki was not qualified to the office of the chief of CIAA. On Sunday, January 8, 2017, the full bench of the three justices of the Supreme Court such as Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Dr. Anand Mohan Bhattarai, and Anil Kumar Sinha ruled that the qualifications of Lokman Singh Karki did not meet the qualifications as required by the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, and so made the appointment of Karki to the chief of CIAA null and void.

Why the former president Yadav did not say anything about the wrong appointment he had made to the unqualified man. How could Yadav justify his mistake of appointing Karki to the chief of CIAA. Surely, Yadav knew Karki was not qualified to the office of the chief of CIAA but he appointed him. Was it not a grave mistake to do something knowing it was wrong, Dr Yadav?

Finally, the Yadav’s grand mistake was to reinstate the then Chief of Army Staff Rukmangud Katuwal Prime Minister Prachanda had fired in 2009. Probably, Yadav knew whether Katuwal was a man of integrity or not. Katuwal also was the strong supporter of the old establishment. Katuwal was certainly a threat to the newly born republic.

Ignoring all these facts, President Yadav reinstated Katuwal to the office of CoAS causing political instability, and making room for the politically unscrupulous politicians to play with the power, and making a U-turn of the political flow. Yadav was responsible very much for the political turmoil thereafter.

Prime Minister Prachanda courageously quit the office thinking that all politicians would play by rules and he would return to power. That did not happen as the then politicians were not so sincere to their actions. However, the then political leaders having the lowest possible morality elected the man that had lost the election in two constituencies to a prime minister making the mockery of democracy. This had been possible due to the immature political decision of the president.

Thanks to the actions of President Yadav, the political instability continued thereafter making the regressive forces to hold ground again. So, Dr Yadav has been responsible as the president for weakening the ground of the federal democratic republic of Nepal because of his mistaken decisions made on those major things.

February 25, 2017