INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The governmenthandling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been heavily criticised by the main opposition party Nepali Congress and the general
The economy appears to be in the doldrums in the aftermath of the lockdown, in effect since March 24
A historical unity that Nepalpolitical parties demonstrated surrounding the inauguration of a half-built road to Limpiyadhura by India last
month had evaporated by the time the House started debating, and subsequently, passing a bill on citizenship
The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) remains virtually besieged under the Millennium Challenge Compact pact, awaiting parliamentary
approval for more than a year
NC leader Minendra Rijal is one of the fiercest critics of the government and the prime minister
&As an opposition Member of Parliament, my duty is to create constant pressure on the government so that it listens to the peoplevoice,&
Ram Kumar Kamat of The Himalayan Times spoke to the NC leader on these issues
Excerpts:
The government is upbeat about being able to control the coronavirus pandemic
Do you agree?
The government has utterly failed to control COVID-19 and the situation will become even worse
The lockdown provided us with an opportunity to flatten the curve, but the government let it go
We had time to put people in safe places, separate the infected from the rest of the population and slowly prepare for the economy to reopen
But the government did not prepare.
Almost 20 per cent of our population lives outside the country
We knew well in advance that many would lose jobs and eventually return home, that those working in India would come back first and migrant
Nepalis working in third countries would follow thereafter
We should have prepared adequately to bring them back and put them in safe quarantine centres, ensuring safe distance between people in
quarantine centres and test them
We were supposed to separate healthy people from infected ones and finally take people to their homes
The government did not do anything during this period
It could have used the three months& period for immaculate planning.
What the government was interested in was making bucks from purchases
It was hell bent on feathering its nest
When the government first tried to procure health equipment, people were up in arms against it and the government had to withdraw its
The government brought in the army as a shield.
Thatnot how the government, the prime minister in particular, view things
Within and outside of the Parliament, the prime minister delved into areas that were not areas of his expertise
He has tried to act like a medical doctor, the most knowledgeable persons on COVID-19, health care system and economics
People elected him as a leader and not as the best doctor or the best economist
Young people took to the streets recently to oppose the governmentpoor handling of COVID-19
They are common citizens that are venting anger at the government
Instead of listening to their voices, the government is trying to punish them
Peopleprotests provided a good window of opportunity to the government to correct its mistakes, but the government has not done anything
COVID-19 is spreading across the country exponentially and it looks like we are heading for deep trouble
Three months of lockdown had provided the government ample opportunity to increase preparedness, but it did not do that.
The PM recently
told the Upper House that in the face of COVID-19, the countryeconomy was not as bad as that of some other countries
What do you have to say?
The PM absolutely does not understand how bad the economic situation is
The gap between expenditure and income is reaching almost Rs 200 billion and for a country whose budget is 1,400 billion, this gap is just
That is why the finance minister has urged the business community to pay taxes as soon as possible
Remittance can decrease by about 20 per cent
Peopledisposable incomes can shrink by six per cent
Thatlike the economy itself shrinking by as many percentage points
This will impact people who are marginally above the poverty line
Despite all the troubles in the last 30 years, we lifted one-third of the population above the poverty line, thanks also to remittance
Now the risk is that the sorry state of the economy might push many people below the poverty line
The PM is entirely in a different world and has no idea of the risks we are facing
My earnest request to the PM is please listen to experts and listen to your own finance minister.
Recently, you staunchly defended the
governmentmove on our border issues with India
Can you shed some light?
With India, the issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani are not new
We have been raising these issues for the last 23 years
In 1997, when then prime minister of India IK Gujral visited Nepal, we raised the issue and they were recognised as ‘pending issues&
In 2000, our then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala visited India and we raised these issues again and they were recognised as
‘outstanding border issues&.
Nepal has been raising these issues in all bilateral fora since then — both coherently and continuously
We have been very patient
We know the importance of our relations with India
India has a very special place in the Nepali mindset
We hope there is equal goodwill among Indians about Nepal and Nepali people also
But the thing is India has to recognise that Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura are part of Nepali territory
We have tried to persuade Indian leaders that this land has to be returned to Nepal
We are not asking India to give its land to us
We are only asking India to give our land back
Letpresent our evidence and check facts and evidence
Letsee whose case stands out clearly and who will prevail
We raised the issue in eminent persons& group.
When a deal was signed between India and China in 2015 on Lipulekh pass, we sent our
diplomatic notes to both India and China
We said that they could not do that on their own and Nepal had to be consulted
In November 2019, India published a new map depicting Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as its territories
We have objected to that.
There are perceptions that our land has been encroached by China also
The government has, however, clarified saying that we have no border issues with China
What do you have to say?
We know that there are issues with China also
We will use our diplomatic channels to raise these issues
There are procedures and protocols to follow.
Are we using different yardsticks for India and China?
No
Our land on both southern and northern borders is of equal importance for us and there should be no misgivings that we employ two yardsticks
as far as our two neighbours are concerned
The yardstick is the same and I will even go beyond that
Our relationship with India is very special
We have always honoured that and I am confident that the Indian people understand that
I hope Indian leaders at the policy-making level will understand that and respect us for what we stand.
Whatyour take on the ruling
partyproposal to make foreign women married to Nepali men wait for seven years to obtain naturalised citizenship?
On citizenship, we have
A lot of people have not understood that we are a nation whose over five million people, which is more than one-fifth of the population live
and work in foreign countries other than India
When we talk about citizenship issue, forget about India for a moment, how will citizenship bill affect over five million people living and
working in several countries
Thatprecisely why we have provision for non-resident Nepali citizenship
Once a Nepali, always a Nepali, but we do not understand that aspiration
They are our greatest resources
More than five million Nepalis working in foreign countries are our ambassadors living in all nooks and corners of the world
We have to be very serious about the citizenship bill affecting millions of Nepalis
Thatone of the reasons why there are nuanced differences between the parties on the citizenship issue.
Second, there cannot be disparity
We have to recognise the institution of marriage and the way it is changing
Citizenship issues are not the issues they used to be 25 or 30 years ago
Citizenship issues have various dynamics
While finalising the citizenship issue, we have to be very open-minded
We do not compromise our national security interests but at the same time we do not become too introvert a nation that will not use its six
million people living outside the border to the best advantage in Nepalfuture endeavours.
What do you have to say about the seven&year
waiting period for obtaining marital naturalised citizenship?
There could be one-year or five-year or seven-year waiting period
Then there is issue of equality between men and women
Many out of six million people living outside the country could get married to people of different nationalities
We will have to take into account these people, children born to these people who would get married to men and women of different countries
India should not be the only factor that we should look into while finalising citizenship issue.
We are a sovereign state
I know Indian people do understand Nepal and they have an enormous amount of love and affection for Nepal
I would urge Indian policy makers also to understand Nepali peopleaspirations
We are ready to make sacrifices for the benefit of our friends but we feel that our honour and pride should be respected
Nepalis have fought wars not only to defend their own territory but also India and the United Kingdom
Our leaders fought alongside their Indian brothers and sisters for Indian independence
If you give us a strong feeling of friendship, we are willing to reciprocate
We are willing to walk the extra mile to help our friends.
Your party has said that the Interim Constitutionprovision regarding naturalised
citizenship on the basis of matrimonial relations should be retained
What do you say?
Not only in the interim constitution, but this provision was first introduced in the 1962 constitution and the provision
Even before 1962, this provision was guided by common law, so when we want to change it, there must be national consensus on it.
Nepal
Communist Party (NCP) has not decided yet about the fate of millennium challenge corporation agreement
What are your views on the MCC agreement?
I am pretty clear about MCC, but have not spoken about it
The reason: my position is not going to change the fate of the agreement
It is so sad that NCP leaders are so divided on the issue
Former PM Jhalanath Khanal and Bhim Rawal are on one side and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pradeep Kumar Gywali on the other
How can party leaders be on two opposite sides on one issue? The NCP has to come up with consistent position on the issue
If they don&t endorse it, then they have to come up with an alternative plan to fund the project that would have been funded under MCC
But I have deeper worries
With the introvert nature that the ruling NCP has, it probably has not understood the increase in significance of Nepal internationally
China is the second largest economy in the world competing with the USA
India is following Chinafootstep and it has also very strong ambition in the international arena
India, China and countries of the world that matter in the international arena take keen interest in Nepal and this should be good news for
There should be no reason for us to take an introvert position
We need to come out of the shackles of the past and play a greater role in the international arena keeping in mind the best interest of our
country.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
The post ‘Nepal needs to break free from
the shackles of the past& appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
