Bikalpa an Alternative hosted a panel discussion session on “Political deadlock in Koshi Province, its impact and possible solution” on 26th September, 2023 at Hotel Shree Krishna, Biratnagar. The panelists for the session were, Hon. Ram Bahadur Magar , Koshi Province Parliament Member and Deputy Parliamentary Party Leader from Communist party of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist (CPNUML), Hon. Sadananda Mandal, Koshi Province Parliament Member from Nepali Congress, Hon. Ganesh Prasad Upreti, Koshi Province Parliament Member from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Hon. Bhakti Prasad Situala, Koshi Province Parliament Member, former Minister of Culture, Tourism and cooperatives and Leader of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Hon. Bidhya Chamling Rai, Koshi Province Parliament Member from Communist Party of Nepal, Unified Socialist, and Mr. Jayram Yadav, former Health Minister and Politburo Member of Peoples Socialist Party of Nepal. The program also included audience from various realms like business associations, civil society members, youths, Medias, and students.
The main objective of the program was to have discussions with parliamentarians and politicians regarding the present political turmoil in the Koshi province and to find solutions on how to get out of the current predicament.
Miss. Shristika Neupane, a researcher at Bikalpa an Alternative, opened the session by extending a warm welcome to the attendees and audience. Then, the floor was given to Mr. Basanta Adhikari, the founder and director of Bikalpa an Alternative, for moderating. In his overview of the program, he highlighted that political stability is a crucial component of the nation’s economic well-being and overall prosperity.
Hon. Ganesh Prasad Upreti, a member of the Koshi Province Assembly from the CPN Maoist Center, remarked during program that the current federalism’s centrality has led to political stagnation in Koshi Province. He asserted that the central government’s choice to forge the same alliance in the province was cause of the instability of the province’s government. He stated that he opposed this form of federalism and prefers an autonomous government. Hon. Upreti asserted that the main cause is the 46/46 political deadlock in the Koshi province and suggested that a clause be included allowing the Speaker to participate in votes as needed.
Hon. Upreti asserted that the Maoists are prepared to remain in opposition if the Nepali Congress and UML establish a united government, arguing that one of the two alliances should be broken because nobody would gain anything by participating in the midterm elections. He said the UML, Maoists, and National Democratic Party could form the government as it was previously.
The CPN-UML’s parliament member and deputy parliamentary party leader, said that when the alliance changes at the center, it also compel for a change in the province. He also claimed that issues like center ordering province to obey its decision have made matters more complicated. He asserted that court had clearly determined House of Speakers’ voting was unlawful and clarified he did not know why the Speaker had been used improperly.
“In the current situation, if we push towards instability by blaming one another, more despair will be created among the people, people will point fingers towards the responsible parties, people’s economic activities will be weakened, and development works will completely be affected. Therefore, there is a need for more dynamic discussions to move towards stability”, he added. While acknowledging that the political parties was unable to thoroughly examine topic of public opinion, Hon. Magar said that they nonetheless agreed to form an all-party administration and run it by alternating chief ministers. He believed that the UML did not have to stay in the government in order for there to be stability.
Nepal’s Democratic Party’s Parliament member, leader of the parliamentary party, and former Minister of Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Hon.Bhakti Prasad Sitaula claimed that the province was experiencing both political and economic impasse, which has been preventing development efforts. He argued that when a society is politically divided, there is no way out, and the necessity of the provincial administration is also in doubt. He proposed strengthening local governments while maintaining the province government as a monitoring administrative body. In such an unstable situation, Hon. Sitaula, who is also the leader of the parliamentary party, had stated that there would be a way out if the state government got abolished.
Likewise, In order to put an end to the unrest and political impasse in Koshi Province, Hon. Sadananda Mandal, a Nepali Congress member who serves on the Koshi Province Assembly, said that political parties must work together, come to an agreement, and understand one another. He claimed that the introduction of federalism was done to include those who were outside of the reach of the state. The major parties should work closely together to resolve all the impasses in order to preserve federalism. He asserted that eliminating federalism would not address the issue and that, in order to implement the constitution, including federalism, all parties must work together.
Former Koshi Province Health Minister and Politburo member Mr. Jairam Yadav stated that People Socialist Party has a firm belief that Koshi Province shouldn’t go for the mid-term election. He claimed that the constitution of Nepal is lacking and that this is the main cause of the issue in the Koshi province. He believed that all of Nepal’s issues would be resolved if the constitution is amended right now. Yadav predicted that concerns about this federalism would persist until the local authorities made their positions on federalism, inclusivity, and proportionate clear. He claimed that naming the Koshi province from the fast track without allowing the MPs enough time for deliberation contributed to this impasse.
The member of the Koshi Provincial Assembly from CPN Socialist Party, Hon. Bidhya Chamling Rai, asserted that a permanent administration could not be formed using the arithmetic of 46/46. She claimed that the state government could not be permanent because of the limitations imposed by the federal government, which prevented it from operating in its own manner. Hon. Rai indicated that if the state government is eliminated, it will be held answerable in front of the citizens and that they should move through with establishing a permanent government. She remarked that there needs to be extensive debate among the leaders for a permanent government because the previous government did not allow enough time for the discussion when naming Koshi province.
After the panelists shared their views, participants were given time to raise the questions. Participants questioned the panelists and offered suggestions on the topic of concern. The event ran for 2 hours and was covered by various national and local medias like Kantipur TV, Online khabar, Makalu Television, Udhgosh Dainik, Bikalpa Khabar, etc. 136 participants form diverse group attended the program .
Media links:
https://bikalpakhabar.com/2023/09/4345/
