Policy, integrity and intent of the equation

Now the UML-Congress coalition government is in labor. The agreement reached on June 17, if there is no political turmoil that often happens in the middle of the night in Kathmandu, on June 29, the government of the 'national consensus' of these two parties will take shape. Speculations are rife. Meanwhile, in the Nepali politics, there are rumors that the government will be formed under the leadership of Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba with Dahal's support and that the geopolitical maneuvering has intensified.

In contrast to the enthusiasm that UML has made another bet in politics regarding this agreement, the big row within the Congress is that 'Oli put Deuba to bed once again in Thanga'. The number of people who assess Oli's dishonesty to the extent of looking at the Congress for the support of other small parties when it is time for him to leave power is not small. It will not be surprising if the equation of Dahal and Oli is formed again for this purpose.

However, the little remaining Lok Laj will not allow both the UML and the Congress parties to immediately back out of this agreement. Further, the Congress parliamentary party that sat on Saturday not only welcomed the agreement regarding the formation of the new government, but also expressed its determination to implement the proposal that the government will be led first by UML President KP Sharma Oli and then by Congress President Deuba.

When Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the vote of confidence on June 28, Congress decided to vote against it. There is no reason why UML, which has come to the post of Prime Minister Polta, should withdraw from the latest agreement. The central committee meeting of UML held on Sunday also decided to form the government under the leadership of his party.

expectations and suspicions

This equation has sprouted a small hope of political stability among ordinary citizens who are away from the selfish games of power change and conspiracies and who have been defeated by the fierce power bargaining of powerless powers. Along with this, it is also expected that efforts to return the country to the "lake" of good governance and prosperity will be sidelined. As the mainstream left forces and the Congress stand together, there are examples of the country achieving significant transformational achievements. The success of the 2046 movement and the 2062-63 people's movement, bringing the Maoists into the mainstream of politics, establishing the republic and promulgating the constitution in 2072 was possible only because of the cooperation of the left-wing and democratic forces.

s are not without bad examples. All the political forces have collectively surrendered that 'we are all unfit to run the state', from making the sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the head of the government to making a person like Lokmansingh Karki the head of the Abuse of Authority Investigation Commission. Even the exchange of interests in constitutional commissions, diplomatic appointments, etc., has rarely set good precedents.

In addition, the question of what happened to the allegations leveled against him by Congress and other opposition parties at that time against the way Oli ran the UML government formed after the 2074 election, has not been resolved. How much and how has he changed since then, as he was fundamentally anti-democratic, despotic and fraudulent politician who was brought out of power after a great effort? And, was he qualified to form a government with the support of the Congress? The answer is nowhere to be found. It can be said that the accusations leveled at that time were false or it should be declared that the Prime Minister has been accepted as he has now completely transformed into a democratic, liberal and trustworthy politician.

This argument is also applicable to the allegations made by Oli against Deuba. For Oli, what is the motive behind the view that Deuba, who has always been an obstacle to prosperity, weak and attracted to the right wing, will still be able to run the government two years from now? Or are they merely a stage for the exchange of very serious, vile and impolitic accusations leveled against each other and often hurled? He has also received mutual silent approval because the level of all politicians has come down to the same level. The self-esteem that has fallen like this in Nepal's politics needs a renaissance somewhere. When politics becomes a kind of ghetto where lies and truth cannot be distinguished and its characters cannot be distinguished from good and bad, then the future of the country becomes dark. The rationale behind the

equation is that

is the minimum standard of policy, integrity, and intent that is absolutely forbidden by power politics, the cause of all suspicion, mistrust, and the political uncertainty it creates. Once upon a time, forces of the closest ideological line were sought to form a political equation. Currently, the politics of Nepal is in such a state that it cannot be ideologically polarized. However, even though it may not be at the level of the idea itself, based on policy proximity and priorities, especially when there is a power equation, the government that operates it can be active in this or that way. The latter equations have broken down due to not being able to create even the general policy bases of daily government operations and budget allocation.

Even now, it is claimed that intangible common priorities such as amendment of the constitution, control of corruption, protection of national interests, acceleration of development, etc. However, not enough homework has been done on the policy bases for setting those priorities. Inability to formulate policy foundations leads to political slogans that sound abstract but difficult to implement.

For example, the promise to enter into that very sensitive issue without determining the dimensions and limits of constitutional amendment is completely immature. The root cause of political instability is not the constitution. In the 2047 constitution, the House of Representatives was the only directly elected house. But even that did not give political stability. The main requirement is the moral character of political characters and sense of responsibility towards the country. No matter how the constitution is made, there will always be loopholes for those who want to exploit it maliciously. As much as the slogan of constitutional amendment looks politically attractive, it is more necessary to be aware of the chaos and risk that will arise when it is used.

Now it is not necessary to enter such a big issue to form a new government. A comprehensive review of a decade of implementation of the Constitution and federalism in particular is the need of the hour. It is necessary to set policy priorities among the power partner parties to solve the immediate burning problems of the country. The economy is in deep recession. Farmers have not received the money sold for milk and the work done by the contractors. The trade deficit is increasing. Both job creation and productivity have fallen to zero. Therefore, the first policy priority is to lift the economy out of recession.

Second, the capacity to implement federalism has not been developed. The pathetic result of the recently published SEE examination shows that even though the local level has got the right to implement school education, it has not been able to deliver results. Many other types of public service delivery and development are problematic. When the focus of local governments is only on gathering and mobilizing resources, the development of governance capacity at that level has been overshadowed. This is no longer a matter of being lightly pushed into a corner.

Thirdly, both schools and higher education are stuck in the mouth of Bhir. The said laws have not been made in time. With 50 percent of students consistently failing SEE and Class 12 exams, the country's political response is nil. The number of students migrating abroad for higher education and the foreign exchange they take with them has broken all previous records. Higher educational institutions that have been continuously added to the country are gradually running out of students. These issues are not discussed in federal and state parliaments.

Fourth, is the situation of public service providers. On the one hand, the government issues a notice that national identity cards are mandatory for all government jobs, and the ministers of the country make a speech at the same time that those who do not have such identity cards will not be deprived of service. There is no need to discuss the real situation of easy passport, driver's license and foreign labor permit in one hour. The mirage of good governance remains the same.

Leaving the natural path of minimal policy consensus on these and similar issues of direct concern to the people, moving forward impossible and unnecessary issues for power change has not increased the credibility of the proposed equation. Since the economy and people's livelihood are not included in the priorities of the seven-point agreement, there is no reasonable justification for the change of government.

Purification of politics

It is the responsibility of any government to make the government system workable to solve the immediate problems of the people. The claim of doing better than the previous government is not new. However, the government formed by the two most powerful political parties in the country is no longer enough to do just that. The real justification for the formation of this government is established to a large extent only if it leads the country's chaotic politics in the direction of purification.

The restoration of the politics of integrity, the seeding of internal democracy and the minimal practice of the institutional values ​​of democracy will be promoted as much as possible by the new equation and if it is not able to do so, it will contribute greatly to democracy. The role and dignity of the elected legislatures and the reputation of the provincial governments can only be reversed by a handful of top leaders who have always hijacked the culture of such a powerful government.

It is necessary to stop major political corruption and make important decisions such as changing the equation through policy debate instead of two or three decisive leaders sitting in a guerilla style and using unethical bargaining as a weapon instead of the arithmetic of public opinion to extend power or position. This equation must show the courage and the way to prove otherwise, to the ever-present risk of powerful governments becoming increasingly undemocratic and intolerant.

Nepal has come a long way from the point of discussing good intentions in politics. Both policy and integrity in politics have gone down to zero. The sole aim of the leaders is to reach power and stay there. The tendency to do anything for power has always made the true intentions of leaders of all parties at all levels appear dubious, hypocritical and dishonest. The Deuba-Oli partnership should be able to set an example that the politics of Nepal can be country and people-oriented, leaders can think about the problems of the country rather than defending their position after forming an alliance without having to worry about the insecurity of the government, and the commitment of Nepal's leaders can be trusted.

These two leaders not only share their interests, but also have the responsibility of proving that the two biggest advocates of the current system of the country are an alliance. The formulators of this equation should also pre-estimate the possible price that the country, democracy and system will pay if this equation is not able to 'deliver' and fails.