Ruling Coalition Smarting Under Enemy, Friendly Fires

A fierce fire from Bharatpur

From Bharatpur (Chitwan district) on April 13, a ‘Maoist attack’ came the government’s way.

Talking to journalists, CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ ‘predicted’ that the KP Sharma Oli-led government won’t last long, citing several street-based protests — of teachers, doctors and nurses, and political parties—and a very serious situation resulting from such protests. He went on to stress the need for the party to move ahead by taking into account the needs of the people and the country in the New Year 2082 BS.

It is quite natural for the main opposition party in the Parliament and other opposition parties to criticize a government and seek a change of guard.

As is quite natural, the government is also in the cross-hairs of the fourth and the fifth largest parties in the parliament — Rastriya Swatantra Party (21 seats and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (13 seats).

Scathing attacks from within

But that is not the end of troubles for the ruling alliance of the Nepali Congress and the CPN(UML), the two largest parties with 88 and 79 seats in the federal parliament.  

Of late, scathing attacks are coming from within the coalition.

Addressing a program of intellectuals in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Congress general secretary Gagan Thapa said the government was working at the speed of a tractor while the situation demands that it work at the speed of a concord jet. 
This government has failed to meet the expectations of the people, he said, pointing at the protest of community teachers: They would not have hit the streets if the government had caught speed. 
We entered the pond to drain the swamp and not to be a part of it, he said referring to the NC’s move of cobbling together the ruling coalition. “We won’t be a part of the swamp,” he said expressing dissatisfaction over delay in important tasks such as constitutional amendment.

Furthermore, he charged that the access of intermediaries to the government leadership’s bedroom had created problems, with a specific reference in relation to the appointment of the governor.

Speaking at a program in Nepalgunj on April 12, NC general secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma criticized PM Oli for participating in public programs at the expense of other important duties.

The Prime Minister should focus more on the government’s performance and not on street performances, Sharma said. 
Public dissatisfaction toward the republican polity is growing because of the government’s unsatisfactory performance, he noted, appealing to the PM to improve performance by letting political parties perform on the streets.

He said people’s support for the republic will grow reciprocally with the improvement in government’s performance.

Shaken but not stirred?
 
Amid increasing criticism from within the ruling coalition, the CPN-UML secretariat held a meeting on Monday, which reportedly concluded that the coalition government will not shake till NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba changes his mind vis-a-vis the understanding reached during the formation of the coalition, pointing out that a section within the NC has always been critical of the current dispensation.