As the deadline for the new constitution approaches, one cannot but help noticing the great role our political parties are playing in bringing what they themselves proclaim from the housetops “the people’s dream of writing and enforcing their own constitution” to fruition. The Constituent Assembly elections held in 2008 were greeted enthusiastically by the present set of our leaders and there was euphoria all around that the primary — and by far the most important — task of framing the constitution will be duly accomplished in time. But it soon became clear to all discerning observers that the elections were meant to send one or the other party to the seat of power in Singha Durbar rather than the parties uniting to frame the constitution.

The Maoist chief at a programme Saturday threatened to launch yet another agitation if the constitution was not enforced on time. (There is nothing new about what he said as he has been expressing such “revolutionary” sentiments time and again.) Yet it is this very party that has become an obstacle in one way or the other to the framing of the constitution. The obstruction began after the Maoists’ Chief of Army Staff debacle and the party’s exit from government. Even a small fry in the CA, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, is warning of “grave consequences” if the constitution is not drafted on time.

And as the clock ticks, there are indications that the constitution may not indeed be drafted on time. There are those who advocate an extension of the time limit through an amendment to the Interim Constitution. There are politicians who see doomsday in the country if the constitution is not drafted by the deadline. And there are some civil society activists who say that the constitution should be written on time one way or the other, and then once the constitution comes into force, one can go on adding necessary amendments to the national statute as if the constitution of a country is a plaything that can keep on changing from time to time depending on which political party comes to power and commands a two-thirds (or three-fourths depending on how the new constitution provides for changes) majority in the national assembly.

And why, it is appropriate to ask, are the CA members being led astray from their main task: the drafting of a new constitution. The 600 plus members of the CA are being paid with the people’s money to undertake what is being called the most important task. The running of the day-to-day business of the government is just a secondary — but nonetheless important — task of the CA. This is why party whips are said to be not operative in the constitution-making process, giving each of the CA members the freedom to voice their own feelings on the proposed constitution and to vote according to their conscience and belief. Yet the concept is poles away from what is actually happening in the CA. No wonder all well-wishers including civil society and the international community are calling on the political parties to unite less to govern the country than to draft the new constitution.

The High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) — whatever that means — was set up to resolve differences among the political parties. The HLPM was rocked by controversy from the very beginning as it seemed to bypass the government and the country’s top executive. The UN mission in Nepal had welcomed the formation of the HLPM in the hope that it would bring the parties together in order to frame a generally acceptable constitution. (No constitution anywhere in the world can be acceptable to all the people.) But the HLPM led by the octogenarian Nepali Congress leader has been running into one impasse or the other even when the convenor is well and is able to conduct the HLPM meetings. The Maoists are said to have even told the HLPM that it should seriously consider replacing the present 20-plus party coalition government by a “national” government led by — who else? — the Maoists or by the same octogenarian NC leader who, in the past, was seen to be pliant to the Maoists.

All the political parties in Nepal say that they place the interests of the country and the people as their highest priority, but all seem to make a mad rush for power in an environment where framing the constitution and not governance is the top-most priority. The Maoists who unwisely left the seat of power now seem desperate for it, and in effect are saying that unless they lead a new government, the drafting of a new constitution would be impossible. And to top it all, the governments formed after the CA elections have not been able to govern as well as they should have. One of the most glaring examples is the failure to restore law and order in the country and to provide security to the people. The everyday reports of killings, abductions and robberies are just a few examples.

The Interim Constitution unfortunately has made no provision for a neutral government till the time a new constitution is framed and elections held under the new constitution. A neutral government for the interim period would have been ideal as the parties would have concentrated on writing the constitution instead of craving for power and gaining all the benefits, legal and semi-legal, that political offices in this country bring. However one looks at it, the present antics of the political parties and their cadres and workers, such as the Young Communist League and the Youth Force, have only helped to discredit such parties and erode the people’s faith in them. Such a situation will be a bad omen for the country. This is why we should not forget that our primary duty is to frame a generally acceptable constitution; and for this, all the political parties need to unite, giving up some of their cherished objectives, if need be, in the greater interest of the people.

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