Maybe I don’t get it. Perhaps only the battle-hardened politicians are supposed to understand these things. These doubts, nonetheless, cannot stop me from jotting down some of my views...though just a novice I might be in the field of politics. But again, as far as I am concerned, the issue I raise here has nothing to do with politics. I am talking about the provision of a new palace for the ex-king and his family, spread over all of 200 ropanis of land.

Every time I turn the TV on, I see thousands of homeless people, dispossessed of their land and property, all over Nepal. I tune into numerous FM channels to hear of the hundreds of youth who are forced to spend all their lives out on the streets. And what do they get from the new ‘people’s government’? Nothing. Instead, more is being handed to the ones who already have enough. What kind of justice is it?

I understand that the former royal family members too are human beings and common Nepalis and deserve to live with as much rights and respect as accorded to any other Nepali. But so far as I know, the king has billions of rupees in his personal account and a similar amount invested in various business ventures. Can’t he build a house to accommodate his small family?

My friends tell me that the government was right to treat him fair and square when the ex-monarch had kept his side of the bargain by deciding to leave Narayanhiti palace on his own and without causing any kind of mischief. I find this argument strange. If the government evicts a ‘commoner’, does it provide h/her with new accommodation even if the person has nothing beside his house? Of course not. The government is showing a double standard.

I am not conversant in the nitty-gritty of politics but as a human being I can say for sure that the guy who sits next to my abode with a bowl in his rough hands has not had a decent meal for years. The kids hacking away in cold, damp pavements across Kathmandu have not seen the inside of a half-decent house...ever! For the creation of a respectable society, everyone should at the least be entitled to good food, shelter and clothes...and a smidgen of human dignity that is common to all irrespective of their stations.