With the swearing-in of Baburam Bhattarai as Nepal's new Prime Minister, the political pendulum has swung squarely back to where it ought to have been in the first place. A Maoist-led coalition is now in place, with the Madhesi parties comprising the other component. The Unified Marxists-Leninists and the Nepali Congress are not part of the new arrangement but Dr. Bhattarai has indicated that the formation of a national government with the participation of all major political parties will be a priority. The Nepali Maoists won the Constituent Assembly elections of 2008, emerging with many more seats than the UML and the NC. However, since the former rebels did not have enough MPs to form a government by themselves, let alone ensure the writing of a new constitution, it was evident that coalition building was the way to go. The first Maoist-led coalition under Prachanda — which collapsed in the face of opposition from the Nepali army, the UML, the NC, and India — may not have done much to further the twin tasks of constitution writing and concluding the peace process. But the opportunistic coalition under Madhav Kumar Nepal, which was in office for nearly two years and had tacit support from hardline elements in India who never reconciled themselves to the emergence of the Maoists as a parliamentary force, was far worse. It was only with the election of the UML's Jhalanath Khanal as Prime Minister in February 2011 that the political logjam began to clear. Today Dr. Bhattarai's emergence as head of a new government offers Nepal a new opportunity to complete its tryst with destiny.
While the principal challenge remains the drafting of a new constitution in accordance with the political, socio-economic, and cultural aspirations of Nepal's peoples, this task cannot be accomplished without tangible steps being taken towards completion of the peace process. The Maoists must disband their erstwhile Peoples' Liberation Army, with an agreed number of former combatants being integrated into the Nepal Army. At the same time, the Nepal Army must be democratised, in keeping with the temper and spirit of the new nation that emerged after the abolition of the monarchy. Numerous proposals have been made to accomplish the task of integration only to flounder in the face of intransigence by hardline elements within the Maoists, the Army, or other political parties. Now that the Maoists are back at the helm, every effort must be made to ensure the speedy resolution of the military question. The term of the CA was extended by three months on Monday night and will now run till November 30. Dr. Bhattarai and his colleagues, as well as all political parties, thus have 90 days to push the peace process and constitution writing seriously. The clock has started ticking. Given the differences on major constitutional issues, they have not a second to lose.
Keywords: Baburam Bhattarai, Nepal politics, Nepal Maoists
It is last opportunity to finish peace process & drafting of a new constitution. if Battrai Goverment become unsuccess, nepalease pepole never get new constitution.
It's the time for Nepal to conclude the peace process by helpting the recently formed government. If more obstacle will be creted by the UML and NC then, more negative result they will see by loosing more seats in any election.
Though I am not the follower of Moist party but personally saying I like Dr. Baburam Bhattari who has vision to change the Nepal into growing economy. This is the right time for all Parties in Nepal to support this government and conclude the peace process, which will give the road map for "Future Nepal:
Be it a Maoist led govt, a Nepali Congress govt or any other government for that matter, a will to do some thing is most important. Constitution could've been written long ago had that desire been there. Hope this time, they put their heads together and work for the long term betterment of Nepal.
Amazingly out-of-touch-with-ground-reality view reflected in this write-up. Wish it were true. Unfortunately, all the media hype around Baburam Bhattarai does not hide that fact that his is the weakest of all the different Maoist factions and his having to surrender all important portfolios to the highly fractured Madheshi parties plus the fact that Nepali Congress and the UML are dead set against this opportunistic coalition that follows the 12-point tutelage means that Baburam will only be a time marker for the monsoon, as well as the festival seasons to end before all conflicts break loose again. All the JNU/Chandigargh FoB (friends of Baburam) in India can enjoy that mesmeric lull before reality intrudes rudely again.
The Nepali atmosphere which is surely bound to affect the Indian scenario, must be viewed in an optimistic way by us. As a big b we must help the Nepalis making a tryst with destiny .
It is indeed good to see that Dr Bhattarai has been sworn in as prime minister, instead of his rival Prachanda. Prachanda's rhetoric and stridently anti-Indian posture created a needless rift with India. It remains troubling that even though India played a singular role in helping to overthrow the monarchy, the Marxists continue to harp on an anti-Indian agenda. They also continue to ignore the regressive role played by both Pakistan and China in supporting the monarchy as those two countries sought to benefit from Nepal's crisis. India and Nepal have to work together for the betterment of the people. Maoists betray their elitist agenda when they pursue policies that are harmful for the people of Nepal. Perhaps, Dr Bhattarai should start by acknowledging the key role played by India in furthering democracy in Nepal.
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