The suspicions raised by the case filed against Madhav Kumar Nepal, President of United Samajwadi Party and former Prime Minister, in the Mathapachi, Patanjali Yogpeeth land case, due to manipulations in some bills including federal civil service, land, distrust is spreading within the ruling party.
"Sher Bahadurji became the prime minister five times, the opportunity will be given to him, what should he do?" Now it is about to meet again. After 14 months, I will formally hand over the position to Sher Bahadurji as Prime Minister.
"I will lead the government for two years, but I do not want to hand over power only after that period is over. I will hand over the position to Deubaji before 10-15 days.'
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's first statement was when he addressed the program organized by the Pre-planning Forum on June 1, while the second statement was given at the program held at the Nepali Embassy in Spain on June 19. After Oli's latest message came from Spain, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba called the media persons who were outside the meeting of the Congress Central Working Committee inside and said, "Congress-UML alliance will go full time." There are problems when two big parties form an alliance. Do not consider such problems as big. We will sit down and solve it.'
These expressions of Prime Minister Oli and 'waiting' Prime Minister Deuba seem to be based on the strategy of deceiving each other for power. At the same time, they are suspicious of each other.
On the day of Paddy Day, Deuba and Oli sitting in the bardli of Balkot on the day of Paddy Day, Deuba and Oli planted the seeds of the new alliance. One of the points of the agreement was to take the leadership of the coalition government and it was implemented on June 30. Oli was appointed Prime Minister. He took oath the next day on June 31. The aftershocks of the alliance formed at the center also brought a stir in the province. Provincial governments were also changed according to the equation of the union.
When Congress and UML formed an alliance, the main goals were stability of the government, amendment of the constitution, economic reform and good governance. But so far, apart from the stabilization of the government, no satisfactory situation has been seen in any other area. There is still suspicion between the two parties, the 'bargaining' of both parties is going on for power. Questions about the functioning of the government are constantly being raised. There is no sign of hope-raising in the remaining tenure of the Oli-led government.
It seems that the psychology of whether Deuba will not get power as per the agreement and whether Congress will create an alternative equation in Oli. Therefore, even though the coalition is strong in terms of the number of parliaments, it looks weak from the point of view of the stability of the government. That's why the leadership of the two parties is stuck in tightening the 'nutbolt' of power instead of focusing the government on economic reform, development and good governance.
In the analysis of left-wing analyst Jhalak Subedi, the government has become weak due to the need to cooperate in the government and compete in politics between the two competing parties. If the Oli-led government does a good job, Jas will go to the UML, and the Congress will be shaken. Similarly, if a Congress minister does a good job, UML is worried," he says. "Some time ago, the government brought 6 ordinances to create an investment-friendly environment. Thapa was more excited about it. UML thought that what we tried to reform the government went to Gagan. Likewise, tension was seen regarding the BRI agreement with China.'
Subedi says that doubts arose because the Oli government did not see the goodwill of India. "Earlier India used to play a role in Nepal's internal politics, because of which Nepali people have developed such a mentality that India does not allow Congress and UML to walk together or separates Congress to prevent Oli from becoming the prime minister," he says. The Indian lobby may have run such a thing.'
In Nepal, an invitation to visit from India usually comes with the appointment of a new prime minister, but after the last appointment, Oli has not received an invitation from the south neighborhood. It has become a tradition for the Prime Minister of Nepal to visit foreign countries from India. Prime Minister Oli visited the northern neighbor China in November 081. During the visit to China, the two sides signed the "BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) Cooperation Framework" on December 20. Experts say that India has become more irritated with the Oli-led government due to that agreement.
Since the formation of the new government, Prime Minister Oli and Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba have been trying to visit the southern neighbor. "This is also the reason why there is talk that the Oli government will leave today and tomorrow," says a Congress minister.
A trickery within the Congress and opposition parties is also continuing to displace the Oli government. Due to the confusion in the appointment of the governor, the decision of the Supreme Court against the appointment of 52 constitutional officers made four years ago on the basis of an ordinance that destroyed the balance of power, the case filed against the chairman of the United Samajwadi Party and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in the Patanjali Yogpeeth land case, the manipulation of some bills including the federal civil service, land, etc., distrust is growing within the ruling party.
Political analysts argue that there is no room for society to expect much from leaders it does not trust. Political analyst and former Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Bhojraj Pokharel comments that the government has not been able to work according to the consensus. He adds, "The agreement that Oliji will become the Prime Minister has been implemented. Accordingly, governments were formed in the provinces. Other programs did not seem satisfactory. Pokharel says, "The credibility of the Prime Minister and the top leaders of the party has been lost. People are not ready to believe them. The people do not believe that something good will happen.'
Now the issues related to good governance, corruption control and public service have become the most complicated. In order to maintain good governance, the government amended some Nepal Acts related to the promotion of good governance and public service delivery through an ordinance. In the revised law, it is provided that "the official who has to make a decision should make a decision according to the date specified in the law and in all other cases within seven days at most". But there has been no improvement in the level of public services. The efficiency of some ministers is being questioned.
According to political analyst Hari Sharma, Prime Minister Oli is an experienced and strong leader in the party and Congress is a strong party, but the government is not working as expected. There is a strong government, resources are also there, it is also a national priority. But the roads and transportation facilities needed by common people have not been improved," he says. The road to the east is built on the banks of the river, there may be technical problems, but there are always collapses. Prithviraj Marg is being built, but at a slow pace. The condition of the national highway connecting the capital has not improved. On the other hand, the roads made by the local government in the villages look good.'
The biggest contradiction is seen in the government's commitment and behavior in the area of good governance. A vivid example of this is that the asset details of the cabinet members are still kept secret. The prime minister, minister and minister of state must submit the details of their assets to the office of the prime minister and council of ministers within two months of their appointment. Although the
was not legally binding, it was a practice to make the details public by cabinet decision. On the other hand, Prime Minister Oli has formed a high-level government reform commission under his chairmanship, distrusting the powerful agencies under his authority. After more than two and a half months, six members are still to be nominated in the commission formed by the cabinet meeting on 8th Baisakh.
Political analyst Pokharel says that the government is weak in maintaining good governance. Government interference has not allowed the authority bill passed by the committee under the state system committee to proceed. Instead of strengthening the institution that controls corruption, there is an attempt to use it in their favor," he says, "Good governance is only limited to language. Even though there are laws, acts and policies, the implementation aspect is weak. Institutional capacity is eroded by the tendency to keep activists of their own party rather than capable and qualified persons in the constitutional bodies. It is not through the empowerment of institutions, but through their use that the tendency to govern has increased.'
The government has included hundreds of small schemes in the budget of the next fiscal year, violating the guidelines of not including schemes of less than 3 crores in the budget. Tug of war between the leadership of the ruling parties delayed the appointment of the Governor of the National Bank by one and a half months. The government's interference in the Governor's recommendation committee was evident. The situation is similar in the appointment of other autonomous bodies. Due to the non-cooperation of Prime Minister and Chancellor Oli, the then Vice-Chancellor Kesharjang Baral resigned on March 15. TRI got a new vice-chancellor only after three months.
The bill to bring the decision of the Council of Ministers under the jurisdiction of the Abuse of Authority Investigation Commission has been stalled due to the disagreement of Prime Minister Oli and Congress President Deuba. The report of this bill was prepared by the sub-committee and submitted to the state system committee on 4 January 2008, but it has not been finalized yet.
The State Order and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives had provided for a 'cooling off period' in the Federal Civil Service Bill, where no government appointment can be taken for two years after retirement or resignation. Some claim that Prime Minister Oli himself was influenced by the Chief Secretary, Secretary and General Secretary of Parliament to remove it. After the bill was passed by the House of Representatives keeping the provision of breaking the 'cooling off period', due to the question of planned fraud, the Parliament formed a special committee and proceeded with the investigation.
UML leader Bidya Bhattarai resigned from the post of education minister after Prime Minister Oli appeared uncooperative in addressing the teachers' demands. The school education bill, which was promised to be passed by June 15, has not yet been finalized by the parliamentary committee. Although the Authority has started an investigation into the mishap of the Immigration Office at Tribhuvan Airport, its credibility is being questioned in Parliament and outside Parliament. RASPA and RPP are still raising their voice in the parliament on the issue of sending people abroad under the guise of visiting visa.
Analyst Subedi says that Prime Minister Oli lacks concrete plans and implementation of government reforms. The behavior of not appealing against Balkrishna Khan in the Bhutanese refugee case, the matter of keeping Deepak Khadka as a minister (due to fraud on Scout's land and conflict of interest in the role of water resources minister), the decision not to prosecute the then minister of Koshi Lilabalab Adhikari who was accused of human trafficking, the allegation of influencing the legal process in the case of Mohammad Aftab Alam of Rautahat, the land case of Balmandir and Bansbari, the visit visa case, etc. The government's attitude towards the issue shows that the government's performance in the field of good governance is the weakest,' he says.
Even the leaders of the ruling party are not satisfied with the functioning of the government in terms of good governance. Congress spokesperson Prakasharan Mahat says that there is a need to improve the working style of the government on many issues of constitutional amendment, good governance and economic sector. He pointed out that although some recent political developments have challenged the alliance to proceed smoothly, the Congress is not in the direction of finding an alternative to the alliance. The meeting of the Congress Central Working Committee, which ended on June 23, also concluded that the effectiveness of the government should be increased rather than looking for an alternative to the alliance.
After a coalition government, one party must adopt the other party's point of view. What I have said is not all, the belief that this is not a single government has not yet been established," says Mahat, "There is a problem in public service delivery. There are hassles, transactions, and delays wherever the common citizens need to directly receive services such as freight, transportation, police, and immigration. Full governance has not been ensured.'
Even though there is some improvement in the economy, more efforts are needed, says Congress spokesperson Mahat. Mentioning that the budget allocation is not effective, he said, "Where there is the greatest need, we have not yet been able to properly address it." Kanika's tendency to scatter, unproductive spending and distribution-oriented thinking still persists.'
Former UML minister Padam Giri argues that the comment that the government is unable to do anything is wrong. He admitted that there are weaknesses in the field of good governance and constitution. Giri claims that the government has succeeded in bringing the sluggish economy to the path of improvement within a year. He says that since the formation of the present government, the major indices of the economy have been moving in a positive direction.
'The first priority of the government formation was to improve the economy, today imports have decreased, exports have increased, foreign currency reserves have increased, inflation is under control,' he said, 'to complete the unfinished infrastructure projects of national pride, important works have been done in the fields of roads, bridges, hydropower, energy etc. Some projects have progressed towards completion. The government has amended the law through an ordinance to increase domestic and foreign investment, these are positive.'
UML leader Giri claims that the current parliament is working more effectively than in the past. "Parliament has played a strong role in the creation of laws for the implementation of federalism," he says, "but the amount of work that should have been done in the field of constitutional amendment and good governance has not been done. People's expectations from the government are high." That will have to be completed.'
The implementation of the agreement made by Congress and UML to amend the constitution has not progressed. Congress alleges that Prime Minister Oli did not take the initiative. The government created a two-party high-level political mechanism for the implementation of the seven-point agreement. But the mechanism has come to a standstill after Congress General Minister Thapa resigned saying that the prime minister did not do what he should have done.
Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has commented that the rationale of the two-party alliance has ended after the issue of constitutional amendment has not been discussed even for a year. Prime Minister Oli has been deceiving the constitution amendment agenda by showing the national assembly equation.
Even after a long time has passed since the country went to a federal structure, the provinces have not been able to mobilize police and personnel due to the lack of laws. The Federal Civil Service Bill, which has just been passed by the House of Representatives, is in controversy. The Police Bill is under discussion. The education bill, which is connected with the implementation of federalism, has not been finalized. Some analysts say that the government has not been able to maintain a balance in its relations with neighboring China and India, bring about the expected improvement in foreign investment and show a strong presence on the international stage.
Leaders say that Prime Minister Oli's speech and behavior have made not only the opposition parties, but also the ruling Congress uncomfortable. They say that because Oli's high ambition to run the government by concentrating the state power under him is sometimes manifested, there is also discomfort in the alliance.
After the 2074 election, Oli became a powerful two-thirds prime minister. At that time, he amended the division of labor regulations of the government and brought dozens of agencies and departments including the Revenue Investigation Department, Asset Laundering Investigation Department, National Investigation Department, Attorney General's Office, Planning Commission, National Development Council, Statistics Department, Investment Board, National Vigilance Center, Constitutional Council Secretariat, Poverty Alleviation Fund under the Prime Minister's Office. Instead of using such powerful agencies for good governance and corruption control, they have created a good governance commission under their own leadership and have increased distrust towards government agencies.
This government could have cleaned all the garbage in the political pool if it wanted. But the government has lost its credibility by not fulfilling the tradition of disclosing the assets of the members of the Council of Ministers," says political analyst Pokharel. "People don't believe me now, rather than doing it." When the budget session began on 28 Baisakh 081, Pushpa Kamal Dahal from the UML-Maoist alliance was the Prime Minister. Two months later, a new power equation was formed between Congress and UML. In the meantime, the Oli-led government has brought a budget for two financial years. There have been three parliamentary sessions.
Some positive things have also been done after Oli became the government. For example, the long-delayed peace process law has been amended. The Citizenship Act has been amended with provisions to make it easier to obtain citizenship in the name of the mother. In order to create an investment-friendly environment for the private sector, the government has amended some Nepal Acts through ordinances. "The law amendment to encourage foreign investment and private sector investment has created a positive environment, but the government should work to convince the people," Congress spokesperson Mahat says, "We want the alliance to be successful, but there is a need to create a bottom line of understanding between the power partners." Otherwise, bargaining will increase between the coalition parties and it will increase distrust.'
