Tussle between the king and parties heading towards climax: Thapa
Former Prime Minister and chairman of newly launched Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP), Surya Bahadur Thapa, has warned that the tussle between the king and mainstream parliamentary parties is heading towards climax.
“It’s in the last stage and it could explode any time. If that takes place, both the sides will be finished off,’’ he said.
Talking to Bijay Kumar Pandey for the ‘Frontline’ programme—a talk show—aired over the private-sector Kantipur Television on Sunday, former premier Thapa said the announcement of elections was not relevant given the crisis the country was in. ‘’It may have been relevant one or one-and-half years ago. But a lot of water has flowed down the Bagmati river since then,’’ he added.
Thapa alleged that the government seemed to be preparing to hold elections to legitimize what he called the ‘unconstitutional move.’ He did not elaborate.
The seven party opposition alliance has been terming the February 1 takeover by King Gyanendra as an ‘unconstitutional move’ and has been demanding immediate return to constitutional process.
The veteran politician said that an alliance between the king and parliamentary parties would be a natural alliance. The proposed alliance between the parties and Maoists is ‘unnatural one.’ But if the parties are denied their space in the polity, probability of what he called the ‘unnatural alliance’ could not be ruled out.
Thapa advised that there should be efforts towards developing consensus between the king and parties before going for elections. He said elections conducted in present circumstances could in no way earn credibility. ‘In order to gain legitimacy, first the constitution should be brought on track,’’ he said.
Thapa alleged that the present council of ministers could not safeguard the long-term interests of monarchy itself. ‘’Nobody in this cabinet, including vice chairmen, are authoritative persons. They can work as civil service does, but not as a political group,’’ he added.
Thapa said in the globalised world, democracy and human rights no more could be considered an internal issue. Since we are a member of the United Nations, the international community would intervene if Nepal moves towards becoming a failed state. He said Nepal’s neighbours looked at their relation with Nepal from their own national interests including the security point of view. India’s foreign policy since post-independence days has become more mature. We should deal with both India and China in a balanced and restrained way, he added.
Thapa further said Nepal could avoid foreign interference, if she was able to manage her domestic problems. nepalnews.com by Oct 31 05
