JUL 15 - T
PM Bhattarai, former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula have been, among others, the harshest critics of the ex-king’s remarks. Bhattarai and Sitaula have even warned that ‘privileges’ provided to the only former Head of the State might be done away with if he keeps speaking like that. Their arguments and attitudes, therefore, give birth to certain serious questions.
Are the ex-king’s remarks worth countering politically, or is it better left ignored? So far as the warning to curtail or quash his privileges is concerned, that is both immoral and unconstitutional. In a democracy you cannot buy the silence of your citizens with ‘privileges’.In the first place, it violates the freedom of expression, the most important of all fundamental rights laid down in the (interim) constitution. Furthermore, trying to barter citizen’s constitutional rights with privileges of any kind is an act of abuse of authority on the part of the state.
And, what are those privileges anyway? Although the government hasn’t made public the list of privileges, a living quarter in Nagarjuna at the outskirts of Kathmandu seems to be the only privilege the ex-king enjoys so far, besides security protection. In fact, security is not a privilege at all, even though vengeful and poorly educated politicians may consider it as such. Can the PM claim that providing security to citizens is a matter of his discretion, and not his duty? Or, for that matter, can he guarantee that the ex-king is under no security threat? Certainly not. How, therefore, can he curtail the security provided to the ex-king simply because the latter refuses to say what he wants to hear?
When all former Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers and Home Ministers have been provided a range of security personnel, special vehicle(s) with sirens, arms, ammunition and communication equipment even when they don’t face any security threat (they use those facilities only to demonstrate their pomp and to clear traffic in the congested streets of Kathmandu), why can’t the ex-king, who is obviously under security threat, be entitled to state protection? As regards the residential facility at Nagarjun Hills, he is not the only one to receive such facility. The Maoist-Madhesi coalition government, which is either unable or uninterested in forming political consensus on issues of utmost national importance—including constitution writing—has been successful in forging consensus to provide life-long pensions, residential facilities and lavish vehicles for the former Head of the State, PMs and even the Speakers of the House.
In fact, the reaction of politicians in this regard is unethical, uncalled for and blown out of proportion, to say the least. Gyanendra Shah lacks both political acumen to stage a comeback and ability to change with the times; that is why he could not retain his power and position in the past. Restoration of monarchy, in whatever form and scale, is most unlikely, at least for some time to come; the reasons are too comprehensive to explain in this brief write-up. However, what I can say for sure is that if and when the monarchy returns in this country it will return not by its own strength and merit. Success or failings of the center-stage actors of the so-called New Nepal, namely the Maoists, NC, CPN-UML, Madhesi parties and the ethno-lingual activists, will determine whether the monarchy will be revived.
Thousands of common people lined up in the scorching heat of Tarai during his recent tour, and in and around Nirmal Niwas on his birthday, to catch just one glimpse of the ex-king. The massive people’s turnout in the rally recently staged by the monarchist party of Kamal Thapa should have been an eye-opener for the parties. But no, they don’t learn from mistakes. Therefore, they better do a thorough introspection of their deceitful politics and dismal performances. It is also possible that the ex-king’s remarks are a blessing in disguise for the likes of Nepal and Sitaula, whose parties have almost lost relevance in the national polity. The ex-king’s remarks may have provided an opportunity to show their existence. For PM Bhattarai, the issue may have created an occasion, at least for the time being, to shift people’s attention from his growing unpopularity and political isolation.
Jeevan is a retired civil servant and literateur who has regularly contributed to several broadsheet dailies and magazines
Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/07/15/oped/centre-stage-failures/357170/
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