A twist in the turn of events seemed to be inevitable with the UCPN (Maoist) registering the Sankalpa Prastav at the parliament for discussion. There was curiosity as to how it would be received by the parties that had supported the CPN-UML led government. But, consensus as usual has been the stumbling block for that particular motion to be debated in the parliament. The same very consensus that had eluded the UCPN (Maoist) on the chief of army issue has once again come to the fore with the Speaker Subas Nembang taking the decision not to introduce the said Maoist motion in the parliament proceedings. The decision was revealed at the meeting of the Work Management Advisory Committee of the parliament on Saturday. This comes as a sort of reversal for the Maoists who had let the House meet proceed, after many days of obstruction, in the hope that at least their motion to debate the President’s decision to revoke the unilateral Maoist decision to sack the CoAS would be entertained. The army row had been the bone of contention which finally led to the resignation of Pushpa Kamal Dahal from his executive post.

However, reason prevailed and the Maoists let the House proceedings run smoothly, and Madhav Kumar Nepal was elected the new Prime Minister. He has begun his work in earnest, even to the extent of urging the Maoists to join hands. As is well known, the UCPN (Maoist) do not seem to be listening to the voice of logic but rather are interested in having their own way. As far as the question of the Sankalpa Prastav is concerned, Speaker Nembang cited the differing stance of the political parties represented in the CA that meant no consensus could be reached. And the Interim Constitution is specific on consensus for moving any proposal on the parliamentary floor. On this issue also no consensus emerged for debating the censure motion, so the Speaker, without having to use his discretionary power, had to refuse to let it be introduced in the House. It might be victory for the parties that are in favour of the Nepal-led government, but signs are the Maoists might not be taking it lightly. However, the Maoists need to understand that the same issue is in the court so it cannot be discussed in the House. But, adamancy remains with the UCPN (Maoist).

All the parties know that the constitutional provision always goes for consensus, which is the vital basis for the smooth functioning of the government. It was of paramount importance earlier as it is now. Yet, the Maoists went on taking unilateral decisions one after another that ate into its adherence to the Interim Statute provisions. The peace process and the constitution writing task has suffered greatly. If only the Maoists had heeded the path to tread with the support of consensus, the country would have made considerable progress on the mandate the people had reposed on it. But, Maoist-led government was more concerned with trivial issues that turned threadbare the understanding that had been arrived at among the parties, particularly the major ones. In fact, the UCPN (Maoist) had invited its own downfall. And, the Maoists have none other than themselves to blame for the unilateral decisions they had taken that created all round problems for all.