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New Set Up
being Consolidated
The political field in the entire month of February 2005 was marked by the debate around the takeover of state power by the King. The political opposition within the country was restrained by various state controls, but Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which is led by people who were near the power centres during the Panchayat period, came up with a resolution contrary to the general expectation and asked the King to take the political parties into confidence.
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Vice-Chairmen of the Council for Minister : Bista (left) and Giri |
Even stronger pressure for easing the restrictions and political activities came from governments of various major donor countries including the US, the EU and India which asked the King to ease the restrictions on individual freedoms, take the political parties into confidence and come up with a plan to return the power to the people’s representatives. They called back their ambassadors for consultations and the end result was a consensus among them to follow the leadership of India in the dealings of these countries towards Nepal.
What is regarded as a response to the international powers, the King summoned the editors of the daily newspapers and online media and told them that they were free to be critical of the government as long as they did not publish anything that may boost the morale of the terrorists.
After the February issue of Nubiz was printed, the King inducted two vice chairmen in the cabinet—Kirtinidhi Bista and Tulsi Giri— both veterans of the Panchayat period. They had headed the Panchayat era government a number of times.
The month also marked the anniversary of the Maoist movement and the insurgents observed it by trying to impose a blockade on the capital. Though they caused some unease in the people’s daily lives, they could not create any panic due to strong patrolling along the highway by the security forces. The 15-day blockade was ultimately lifted on February 26.
Meanwhile, the government issued an Ordinance granting itself power to appoint government employees to run local government bodies, such as the Village Development Committees and the District Development Committees. One important change in the government set up was the appointment of the new Attorney General—Prof. Pawan Kumar Ojha, who replaced Mahadev Yadav, appointed by the ousted Deuba government.
The more important development in the administrative field was the setting up of a Royal Commission to probe and take action against corruption. Headed by Bhakta Bahadur Koirala, who served as the Home Secretary and at various positions before the 1990 political change, the Commission has been granted some extraordinary authorities to expedite the actions against the corrupts. Refuting the doubt from some quarters, the head of the Commission for Investigation Against the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the constitutional body already invested with the duty and authority to carry out anti-corruption activities, has said that the new Commission will not cause any difficulty in the CIAA’s functions.
Meanwhile, several new people were made secretaries in Government Ministries transferring the incumbents to the Reserve Pool. However, those in the key ministries such as Foreign Affairs, Finance, Home and Defense were not changed.
On the opposition front, the political parties that took to the streets before February 1 are reported to have formed a new alliance by inducting Nepali Congress (Democratic) and CPN-UML (both partners in the coalition government ousted by the February 1 takeover). But one earlier constituent of the opposition alliance—the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party—has pulled out of it.
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