An unjustified move

A western educated CK Raut and a long-time associate of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Netra Bikram Chand came into limelight when the government decided to settle the issues raised by Raut on the one hand and declare Chand as a criminal outfit, on the other.

There may be a cause to declare Chand’s revolutionist movement as criminal as it was continuously involved in a series of bomb blasts, extortion and other likewise activities. Yet, what prompted PM Oli to negotiate with a secessionist overnight? That has left many surprised.

Not to be too biased, if PM Oli has used CK Raut’s personal image and his party strength to counter his rival RJP in Province no. 2 politics – it will merely be a dream as Raut and his party has no political base at all.

The obvious reason could be the vacuum created in the Madhes politics after Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) withdrew its support to Nepal Communist Party government to protest against eleven years imprisonment to its Tharu leader, Resham Chaudhary.

CPN is a weak opposition in Province no 2 compared to Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum and RJP. To minimize their role, it needs another powerful faction to ally with which can counter Forum and RJP, and even Nepali Congress. Therefore, NCP could have thought that CK Raut’s ‘Free Madhes Alliance’ could help it to establish well in Province no. 2 if it is brought into mainstream politics.

Another reason to bring it in the mainstream could be as per the grand design of the west as a part of its strategy. If it is so and proved accordingly, the NCP government will be dragged into another controversy similar to supporting the ‘Universal Peace Federation – a holy wine episode’. Perhaps it will be more sensational as it is related to undermining nation’s territorial integrity as claimed by Bhim Rawal.

Not to be too biased, if PM Oli has used CK Raut’s personal image and his party strength to counter his rival RJP in Province no. 2 politics – it will merely be a dream as Raut and his party has no political base at all. So, one can easily imagine why and how PM Oli reached a decision to compromise with a secessionist group that had not even reached a level of strategic stalemate with the state. It looks either he or his think tanks are fully immature or he is guided by the westerners.

On the contrary, the government has failed to understand that a majority of people are gradually getting frustrated with it due to its own activities.

In respect to Chand’s revolutionist faction, it was slowly threatening the state mechanism. However, it had also not reached the level of strategic stalemate with the security forces. So, the government could have decided to counter it through a defensive policy with increased surveillance at the sensitive installations and offensive policy to counter extortion as well as increased vigilance at the public places.

The government has failed to render good governance and minimize corruption. Thus, people feel insecure from the government itself. In such a scenario, public confidence in the demands of counter-revolutionists considerably deteriorates.

The government’s role in such a situation should be to win and enhance its confidence among people. Instead of improving governance and adopting a policy that widens the gap between the revolutionist and the commoners – the government has opted for a punitive policy by dubbing ‘Biplab’ led NCP as a criminal outfit. On the contrary, the government has failed to understand that a majority of people are gradually getting frustrated with it due to its own activities.