No puzzle

UCPN (M) crying foul at the trivia has become something that comes up with regularity. Anything that does not go well with their party lines will definitely face all the protests that they can muster up. If any event goes against the interest of the people and the country, raising the loudest of voices is totally justified. But, the touches they make are so well-crafted that even a right is presented as a wrong to get the people on their side. This is exactly what happened when vehicles carrying materials for the Armed Police Force (APF) were stopped by the Maoists claiming that it was being done in violation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA). Herein, it is questionable as to how far the Maoists themselves have respected the said accord over the years.

The activities of the Maoist cadres, on a firm analysis, will be enough to highlight how much they have thrown the CPA to dust, and only it is banked on to play a tirade on the others, a form of playacting that they are so adept at. In reference to the CPA, the armies were the two blocks that were taken into account whether it was the arms and ammunitions or the regulars included in them. This was the reason for the verification and confinement of the weapons and armies under the supervision of UNMIN, the role of which is not out of bounds of controversies.

Shouting hoarse cannot prove the point right, the basis and the guidelines have to come for purview. In this regard, even Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has categorically stated that the weapons and logistics meant for APF had been brought into Nepal from India as something which is not unusual. He also mentioned that the import was nothing of a surprise as it was for regular use for the training of the APF cadets. To make such a

hue and cry over what is not covered by any agreement just goes to exhibit the sensationalism based bent of mind of the UCPN (M). It was surprising

that some top Maoist leaders had also thrown

their weight behind this episode, which should not have been of so great a interest to them. But, what is obvious is that the Maoists know how to whip up people’s backing for opinion against the government. In fact, when out of power and the strong yearning there, the Maoists are always on the look out for any incident that can spell doom for the government. But, this coalition government is also not a fool to embark on the said import without having verified its own stand in the whole affair.

If the matter had been about the arms for the Nepal Army, there was a point. But, that is not the case. As for the hyped Maoist speeches about civil war erupting all because of the essentials brought in from India, they have themselves to point at because the missing of many verified combatants from the cantonments have been reported, the whereabouts of whom even the UNMIN is hard pressed to answer. The disarming of the former Maoist soldiers has not been achieved despite the supposed safe storage of their weapons in the containers. Adding up the clues, it seems obvious that the UCPN (M) is more for confrontational gambit rather than the consensual line of action with the political parties. So, their insistence for statute first, and integration later rhetoric.

Health cover

Previous governments have often harped on the topic about providing health for all or at least in the long term, but little have been done so that this materializes. As a impoverished county many of the people do not have access even to basic health services. So the news report that the government is mulling providing health insurance for all comes as a welcome piece of news. Let us only hope that this is taken of with serious commitment. Hopefully, this insurance would ensure that no Nepali citizen is denied of health service which according to the international constitution is the basic right of every citizen. So in keeping with this requirement the move to adopt a policy suitable to the country from different models should be studied and equally importantly be implemented as soon as possible without delay.

Meanwhile, there is a need to understand that there is a distinction between free health service and health insurance. The insurance policy would ensure that no needy Nepali is denied basic health care when they need them. The government has to prove skeptics wrong who doubt whether this sort of insurance is practical in Nepal.