The latest demands of Maoists are quite bizarre. One fails to understand what purpose will the dissolution of the revived parliament and the incipient seven-party alliance (SPA) government serve. After all, the revival of the House of Representatives and the formation of the SPA government are the achievements of the popular agitation, the success of which can be attributed, among other factors, to the active co-operation of the Maoists.

The Maoists’ demand for constituent assembly (CA) is in accordance with the SPA’s plan. The government, too, has pledged to hold CA polls in due course. However, it is only natural that the government should take time to fulfil its obligation towards this end. No one should doubt the government’s intention about its set objectives to elect the CA. Why then should any quarter be in a hurry to summon the CA?

The demand for the dissolution of both the parliament and the government is quite unreasonable and ill-placed. There is no logic in replacing this government and parliament with the new ones. These steps are tantamount to rolling back the gains of the popular 19-day-long pro-democracy movement.

More important is that the present government take all steps required to call the CA, either prior to or after holding the elections to a new parliament. Dissolving the parliament and the government will only create fresh problems that will be harder to solve than the present ones.

Meanwhile, the government is facing day-to-day law and order problems that are believed to have been caused by anti-democratic forces said to be hell-bent on sabotaging the government’s plans and programmes.

The demand on the government to turn Nepal into a republican state is an equally difficult proposition to fulfil immediately. Despite its negative image, monarchy nonetheless remains an institution firmly rooted in the country’s history and tradition. The SPA and the Maoists have already decided on its proper place in the present day politics. Moreover, the government is working to cut down its size as per the aspirations of the majority of Nepalis. If both the sides want Nepal to be a republic, it will eventually be a republic, no more, no less. However, this is contingent upon the activities and achievements of the CA. So why should the Maoist top brass be impatient about the progress being made towards this end?

The proper course of action for the Maoists, in particular, should be to ensure the final defeat of the residual forces of destabilisation that are none other than the supporters of the “ancient regime” which has been discomfited at the hands of the SPA and the Maoists.

Rather than articulate their dissatisfaction over the continuation of the government and the House of Representatives, the Maoists should focus their attention on making their talks with the government a success. This is the need of the hour and also what all Nepalis desire for the establishment of lasting peace.

Fortunately, the Maoist leaders seem serious about making the peace talks a success, as is evident from Maoist leaders’ statements. This can also be judged from Maoist talks team leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara’s recent interview to a newspaper, in which he asserts that the failure of talks this time around would result in untold bloodshed.