Do they want polls?

Even though there are hardly four months to go for the November 22 constituent

assembly election, which will chart out a new course for Nepal, the eight party

alliance has still not been able to win the confidence of the general populace.

The doubts over whether the CA polls will be held persist, for the polls have been deferred once, and even now, no political party has launched its election campaign in earnest. EPA leaders, instead of spreading enthusiasm among the people about the CA polls, are expressing their doubts in public about whether the polls will really be held on November 22.

No one but the EPA will have to shoulder the blame if elections do not take place. The EPA should therefore work towards building an atmosphere of confidence and launch election

campaigns immediately.

Rupesh R Khanal,

via e-mail

Space for King

Some elements engaged in Tarai agitation are clearly intent on delaying and disrupting the constituent assembly elections, as are the Maoists whose violations of the law continue. Though the King has been the whipping boy of one and all, putting him out of the

political scene might not provide the ultimate solution to the crisis.

In fact, any such move might only lead him to hatch conspiracies. If minor political forces that came into existence after the formation of the eight party government can create such obstacles to the peace process, the institution of monarchy, which has a 238-year history, can certainly do much more to destabilise the country if it so desires.

The monarchy’s fate should only be decided by a legitimately convened constituent assembly.

Dwaipayan Regmi,

Biratnagar

Maoist intent

This is in reference to the news report “Maoists harp on republic string” (THT, August 2). Though the Maoists claim to have a “revolutionary spirit”, their reluctance to go to the

polls before the republic issue has been settled, indicates the opposite.

A revolutionary outfit abides by the wishes of the common people and does not impose its

solution on them. Nepalis have not yet expressed what kind of government they want. The only concern for the Maoists at the moment should be how to prepare for the Constituent Assembly polls so as to garner people’s support.

Manit Deokota, Ratopul

Neglected

Apropos of the news report “Starving flood-hit family waits, hopes for the best” (THT, August 2), it is sad that the utter misery of the flood victims has gone unnoticed. Though Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and over a dozen MPs visited flood-hit areas promising

relief, the pitiable state of the starving people is heart-rending.

This is a clear indication of the government’s indifference. Efforts should be made to ensure that relief reaches the needy, and money and materials are not diverted to selfish purposes

Where have all the funds donated by the government, international organisations and other social welfare societies gone? Such questions have often arisen in the past. This should not happen again.

Bipin Pokharel, via e-mail