Deuba
back to Singha Durbar: Opportunity to ‘right his wrongs’
(Manoj Karki)
(Manoj Karki)
KATHMANDU: President of the largest political party in
the parliament, Nepali Congress, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba is back at the helm of affairs
of Nepal, after a gap of 12 years. Deuba has become a frequent occupant of the
leading spot in Singha Durbar, with this becoming the fourth time that he has
taken over the leadership of the country.
However, as Deuba will
experience in the days to come, it is not necessarily an easy time to head the
Nepali council of ministers. Not only because the tenure is limited, but also
due to the many important tasks that he will have to complete within the next
eight months or so.
The most challenging task
ahead is the full implementation of the new constitution that will start with
now holding the second phase of local level elections, scheduled for June 28 to
follow it up with the provincial and general elections by January 2018.
Handling a coalition government made up of almost two-third majority in the
house will be another challenge for this seasoned politician.
Apart from meeting the
challenges ahead, Prime Minister Deuba also has to prove his critics wrong, and
rectify the failures he has had in his last premierships, most notably when
then King Gyanendra ousted him after branding him ‘incompetent’. Though
Gyanendra has now become a commoner, a party that is voicing for his
reinstatement with the restoration of constitutional monarchy in the country
was one of the many parties that ensured Deuba’s comfortable win in the
election to the post of the 40th Prime Minister of the country.
After completing his
cabinet, which has been inaugurated with three deputy Prime Ministers, Prime
Minister Deuba’s first challenge would be to ensure that the Madhesh-centric
political parties take part in the second phase of local level elections. For this, Deuba has to address their major
demands including amendment of the new Constitution.
Fortunately for Deuba, he
will have to garner only a handful of votes to ensure two-thirds majority,
required to amend the constitution. In the election held at the parliament on
Tuesday, the lone candidate in the race for premiership, Mr Deuba was elected
with 388 votes in the 593-member house. Unless there is undemocratic and unruly
obstruction of the house by the main opposition, getting a two-thirds majority
for amending the constitution should not be a problem for Deuba. However, he
needs to make sure that the amendment he sanctions does not lead to demand for
more amendments to the constitution which is not even two years old.
Nepali Congress was
limited to the second position in the first phase of the local elections, which
many claim to have been contributed by some controversial decisions taken
allegedly by Deuba, including the decision to impeach Chief Justice Sushila
Karki. Though many reasons have been pointed out for the same, Deuba’s liking
for Jaya Bahadur Chand to head Nepal Police organization came to the fore as the
ground that eventually led to a fall out between the executive and the
judiciary . Deuba’s decision to collaborate with the CPN (MC) in the first
phase of local elections also did not fair good for the party, most notably in
the bid to get his predecessor’s daughter become the mayor of the newly
designated metropolitan city of Bharatpur.
Hence, Prime Minister
Deuba now has the opportunity to learn from his past shortcomings and make this
latest stint of his at the helms of affairs at Singha Durbar a positive and
fruitful one not only for himself and his party, but for the country as a
whole.
Speeding up the now
stalled post-earthquake reconstruction process, maintaining the continuous
supply of power that happened in a miraculous fashion during the previous
government’s tenure, maintaining the significant economic growth rate and
maintaining equdistance between neighbours China and India are other challenges
that Deuba will have to be address in his very short tenure at Singha Durbar.
Dealing with a very vocal and stiff opposition in the CPN-UML will be another
challenge that the four-time prime minister will face in the days ahead.
However, given the short
span of term and the grave responsibilities ahead, Prime Minister Deuba has the
golden opportunity at hand to establish himself as a true statesman of the
country by rising above his petty personal and party interest and working for
the greater good of the nation as a whole. RSS
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