The issue of dissolving the House of Representatives (HoR) has become a matter of debate among the political parties which have signed the agreement as some of them want to keep it till an alternative arrangement is made or till the next HoR is elected. This matter has come to the fore with the signing of the eight-point agreement by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the Maoist supremo Prachanda on June 16, 2006, in the capital city. The eight-point agreement includes the framing of an interim constitution within 15 days, forming of an interim government including the Maoists within one month and declaring the date for the election to the constituent assembly (CA). It also includes the dissolution of the HoR and the people’s governments formed by the Maoists in the villages. It was also agreed to request the United Nations for the management and monitoring of the armed forces of both the sides.

This reminds us of the sayings in the Bhagvad Gita in which Arjuna, while speaking like a learned man, refuses to fight against his kith and kin and Lord Krishna advises him not to grieve over those who should not be grieved for as wise men do not sorrow over the dead or the living. There is apparent resemblance between the context of the Mahabharata and the current political scenario in Nepal. Some of the political leaders who are opposing the move of re-dissolution of the HoR are really grieving for the House, which was declared dead/dissolved about four years back. It is a mere chance that it has been given a new lease of life for a very short period of time. It is commonly felt that the political leaders will not hesitate to sacrifice their petty interests for the sake of the larger cause of peace negotiations, which are passing through the most critical phase.

Peace, for which the people have been craving since the nation was engulfed in the Maoist insurgency, has come to their doo-rsteps due to the successful negotiations with the Maoists on the basis of the 12-point understanding reached between the seven-party alliance (SPA) and the Maoists on November 22, 2005. The memorandum of understanding turned the three-polar conflict into a bipolar one, facilitating the fall of the direct rule of the king so quickly.

Ironically, those who were once opposing the reinstatement of the dissolved House, are now vehemently opposing its re-dissolution. Most of the partners of the SPA were once dead against the revival of the dissolved House. They were convinced about extending their support to the strategic stand of the Nepali Congress, and ultimately even the Maoists, too, had to follow suit. The issue of House revival figured in the 12-point accord reached between the Maoists and the SPA. Accordingly, the House was reinstated with a view to giving a constitutional role to all the major decisions taken to re-establish the democratic rule, providing a democratic road map to the nation.

The revived House has been turned into a unique historical House that has been

resurrected in a new form in which it has never been seen earlier. It has all the

powers of a sovereign House. In other

words it is complete in itself without the Upper House and the king in it. The House was revived about two months ago. Since then, it has been functioning like a regular House in normal times, which it should not be. Unfortunately, due to internal squabblings within the SPA, it took nearly two months to form such an enlarged cabinet that it would be very difficult now to accommodate the Maoists with important ministerial berths. Any change in the cabinet may create ripples or dissention in the SPA, which could have been avoided by forming a small cabinet.

The prime job of the House is to declare an interim constitution replacing the existing one. The second function of the House is to make or amend the relevant laws to facilitate the election to the CA, if possible, shortly. The third function is to fix the date of the CA election. Lastly, it can empower the interim cabinet consisting of the Maoists to function as a legislature as well to meet the needs of the nation. It may have to continue till the CA is constituted and if necessary it can function till next parliamentary elections are held and a new elected government is formed. Significantly, it should be remembered that if any alternate arrangement is made for replacing the dissolved HoR, it will be problematic, as its formation would create more problems than what it could solve.

Formation of an interim government is not a new phenomenon in Nepal. We had such an arrangement as an outcome of the people’s movement when an interim government was formed under the premiership of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in 1990. The then Bhattarai-led interim government worked successfully for nearly 14 months till a new elected government assumed office in 1991. Hence we must prepare ourselves to hold the election to the CA as early as possible single-mindedly. This is the need of the hour.

Prof Mishra is coordinator, CCNCMC