Crumbling

Editorial

Someone budged somewhere. Maybe, that is. In the riddle that is communist politics of the ruling NCP, the resumption of talks between the two party chairmen hardly became news last week but the formation of a committee to settle the differences between them, that too, endorsed by the party secretariat upon demand, did. After all, it helped postpone the five-day deadline given by Prime Minister K.P. Oli for something substantive. At the time of writing, nothing emanates but rumours of the cabinet reshuffle. It is easy to agree with a vertically disgruntled party rank which put Oli squarely at the helm still. That, after all, is the source of the fracas. The budging is lopsided. The excuse is party unity. Wee where we were, similar desperation persists in the Nepali Congress supremo Sher Bahadur Deuba draws flak for preparing his election team with late nominations in committees of his team to tailor his team for the election in the scheduled party elections. This is hinting, moreover, at the postponement of the polls itself. The opposition to Deuba within his party accuses him of non-functioning and come close to conclusions that his continuing leadership at the time of approaching national elections spells doom for the party altogether. Indeed, what the party polls have done is the surface difference in the party leadership as candidates position themselves for their in-party polls.

All the while parliament sessions remain suspended. Covid-19 presses. Crime and suicides mount. Floods wreak havoc. And, a congratulatory telephonic conversation between Oli and his Indian counterpart is being hyped as an indication of normalization of relations. Although this was soon followed by a review meeting of Indian projects here, getting down to hardtacks remains at best elusive. The overall conclusion that the state is stagnant and the system is at a standstill is gradually becoming the normal conclusion. The worry is that efforts to salvage the situation will not only have to race against time but may as well prove national reach and resources.

People’s Review Print Edition