Leaders of the seven political parties have indicated that a new agreement between them is likely to materialise within days. Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said three days ago that the top leaders of the three major parties had realised the need to end the stalemate and announce the poll date by tomorrow. Maoist chairman Prachanda

has been speaking along similar lines these past few days, at once warning that the country might lapse into anarchy if a new date could not be fixed by December 15 (tomorrow). Tomorrow’s deadline is mainly due to a stipulation in the Interim Constitution that the election to the constituent assembly would be held by tomorrow. The failure to keep that date requires a constitutional amendment. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has also said that he has already received indications that the country would move in a different direction if the SPA could not reach an agreement by tomorrow to break the political deadlock.

This common perception of the imminent danger ahead for the country should, logically, lead the disputants in the SPA to arrive at an agreement that would take the peace process forward to a successful conclusion, at the same time ensuring that the forces of destabilisation are contained. Koirala is reported to have said that the issue of the resignations of one Madehsi minister and four Madhesi Members of Parliament should also be viewed from otherangle. Indeed, Minister Mahanta Thakur, one of Koirala’s most trusted men of long standing in the Congress, broke with him all of a sudden — at least to the public eye — quitting the ministry, the interim parliament and even the party. This

has chilled the hearts of many other people too, as even those who had been unsuspecting till the other day now appear to start seeing some ominous signs on the horizon. In this dramatic bringing together of people of various parties belonging to the Tarai region to form a new Madhesi regional party many suspect there is more than meets the eye, as the statements of Koirala and other political leaders suggest.

If the assessment of a looming ‘disaster’ is right, it is not the time to bargain hard for one’s party. The overriding concern must be to end the deadlock, even if each of the disputants may have to cede a little more of the ground it has held so far.

Moreover, many senior political leaders talk freely in private conversations about the disturbing developments happening across the country. If any of Nepal’s vital interests, such as its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, is under real threat, the political parties do not seem to be doing enough to deal with the threat effectively.

If no such threat looms, they are not being responsible, either. The public expects the national parties and their political leaders to rise to the occasion skilfully and courageously to tackle all major types of problem facing the country. Merely raising bogeys or stating the problems would do the nation no good.