A coalition partner of the current Nepali government has lashed out at Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and accused him of “sabotage” of the 2015 Constitution. Rajendra Mahto, a prominent leader from the Terai region who is currently on a visit to Delhi spoke to The Hindu on Friday and said planning is afoot to start a new wave of protests to bring an inclusive government in Kathmandu and that there is widespread frustration among the Nepalis about the manner in which Prachanda is running the government.
“Nepal had seven Constitutions in the last seven decades and each Constitution was sabotaged by the upper caste elite of Kathmandu valley. The current Constitution has also gone down the same road. We demanded amendment into the Constitution, but nothing was done to address our concerns. Prime Minister Dahal has also sabotaged our demands,” said Mr. Mahto who was one of the prominent figures who led the Madhesi agitation of 2015-’16. The Loktantrik Samajbadi Party to which Mr. Mahto belongs is a member of the Government led by Prachanda’s Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). Being party to the governmen, however, did not stop Mr. Mahto from attacking the current government that he branded was led by western values.
“There is a culture of holy wine among political parties in Nepal,” said Mr. Mahto hinting at growing influence of Christianity in Nepal and said that the political leaders are being influenced by “ideas from outside” and added, “Nepal is an ancient land of Sanatan dharma and the Vedas and therefore foreign ideas like communism and conversion from Hindu faith can not be helpful in solving our problems. We have to generate our own solutions and take every community on board to find a solution acceptable to all sides.”
Nepal adopted the current constitution on 20 September 2015 and ever since the Madhesis have been demanding amendments to the constitution to make the document reflect aspiration of the Madhesis, janajatis and the people who live in the high Himalayas. India has been engaged on ensuring inclusiveness of the Nepali Cnstitution and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar last week met with various Madhesi leaders including the leader of Loktantrik Samajbadi Party Mahant Thakur.
Mr. Mahto who is expected to meet senior Indian officials here during his stay in Delhi said that sensing growing disillusionment about the democratic system, the monarchists who want the return of King Gyanendra as the ruler, are gaining popularity. He however dismissed possibility of the return of monarchy in Nepal saying that people of want democracy and will not go back to monarchy which is a thing of past. “Nepal is a plurinational state but it is being governed by a group that has established monopoly over power and all these leaders like Prachanda, Sher Bahadur Deuba and Madhav Nepal belong to the same upper caste group. To establish plurinational state, we need to launch a new national liberation struggle,” said Mr. Mahto.
