Who’s in, who’s not?

It is still not clear which political parties will be included in the new government to be formed

after the start of the Constituent Assembly session. It looks as if Nepali Congress will be in the fray provided it gets some lucrative ministries like Home and Finance. But as yet, there is no clear consensus about the party’s participation in the CPN-Maoist-led government. It is also equally unclear if new faces will get a chance or the same old people will be sent to the cabinet.

CPN-UML seems more reluctant to join any government under CPN-Maoist, and understandably so. The former’s stature as the biggest communist party of Nepal took a severe beating in the CA polls and the party needs some time to restructure the old party structure to do better next time.

Other sizable political parties like the MJF and TMDP too remain unsure of their role in the new government. In this situation, if the Maoists have to go it alone, will they be successful? The Maoist top brass thinks so. But it will be a Herculean task for them to implement their

programmes with no partners and no majority in the Constituent Assembly.

Sumit Rana, Ratnapark

Mob rule

This concerns the news report “Jilted lover lynched for killing girl, her mom” (THT, May 6) from Sunsari. Sadly, mob rule still prevails in many parts of the country. When someone commits any wrong, others feel it their duty — rather than that of the police — to teach the miscreant a lesson. The Maoist insurgency did a lot to erode people’s trust in security bodies and much of the mistrust lingers. Lack of education and dearth of knowledge about one’s

rights and responsibilities are also to blame for this state of affairs. The forthcoming government must be able to give people a sense of security, otherwise instances of

vigilante justice will only increase across the country.

Smita Pandey, Biratnagar, Sunsari

Omnipotent

The devastating cyclone in Myanmar that has claimed at least 15,000 lives is yet

another reminder of how cruel nature can be. The 2002 tsunami in South and South-East Asia is still fresh in the mind of Asians. A deadly earthquake shook Pakistan not long ago,

causing untold loss of life and property. Bangladesh is hit by floods each year.

Despite all our modern developments, sometimes, it seems we are totally helpless when nature strikes.

Manit Sunuwar, via e-mail

Relief

It is a great relief that the Nepal Electricity Authority has cut back almost half the duration of weekly load-shedding. Also, with frequent rains the water reservoirs seem to have filled up as the supply of drinking water has increased considerably in the last few days.

And yet, given past records, this may be a temporary luxury, and soon the gloomy, dark nights and dry taps will again be the daily norm for Nepalis.

I hope the concerned Nepali authorities and foreign donors will take take this into account and take concrete measures to avert the water and electricity crisis once and for all.

Prapti Tiwari, Maitidevi