PM missed opportunity

The Himalayan Times

11 February 2021

PM missed opportunity

Defending PM Oli’s decision to dissolve HoR and go for the election for fresh mandate, one of his lawyers disclosed the other day at the Supreme Court that the PM had dissolved the HoR with the objective of winning the two thirds majority to amend the constitution “House dissolved for two-thirds majority” (THT, Feb 9, Page 2). What a fantastic idea it was to dissolve the HoR when his government had almost a two-thirds majority in the House. Had he diligently proposed such a noble thought of amending the constitution to address the concerns and issues of all the people to the other political parties, he could have easily garnered a two-thirds majority support from the then HoR for amending the constitution.

 But, the way he abruptly dissolved HoR, accusing the other faction of his party for not letting his government perform well. did not seem to be palatable to his rival faction and the other political parties. As a result, the country has plunged into a political mess, inviting social chaos and lawlessness. Both his faction and Prachand-Madhav faction seem to be engaged in flexing political muscles in the streets, creating confusion and panic among the general public. Holding elections for seeking the people’s fresh mandate is to follow and respect democratic norms and values. However, PM Oli and his government could have saved billions of rupees in taxpayers’ money for holding the mid-term elections, had he wisely floated and shared his wonderful and easily achievable objectives with all the stakeholders rather than abruptly dissolving the HoR.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj

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