Chambers dictionary verifies the meaning of politics as “wise in looking out for one’s own interests” and a politicians as “a person active in politics chiefly for his own profit or that of his party”. In the facade of building a new Nepal, our politicians not only have literally practiced politics very close to the dictionary’s meaning, but overworked it for their own personal and party’s vested interests.

Packed with impractical politicians as mentors,

parasitical politics has held the nation to ransom, be

it in the Constituent Assembly, the judiciary, security and academic institutions, the bureaucracy, industrial and the media sectors,

right onto the streets. Time is already at hand for the

nation’s thinking minds

and for the public to raise a united voice against bad governance and non-delivery due to the hidden hands and vested agendas of the political parties.

For its purposes, even the devil quotes the Gita. Hence, our politicians in sleep and in speech chant the people’s mandate

of promulgating a new

constitution and bringing peace to a logical conclusion. The lack of statesmanship, non-governance and primarily the practice of irresponsible and self-centered politics by the politicians made the supreme twin objectives a mirage.

The Constituent Assembly (CA), the main body entrusted with the task of constitution writing, has hit a road block on account of intense inter and intra party infighting in pursuant of their respective goals, thus, pushing the national goals into oblivion. Yet, political leaders, often for public consumption, harp on the peace process being in peril.

It is very disgusting and sad to view TV channel footages of the near-empty House proceedings where many of the nation’s burning issues are being discussed. Its lawmakers, who enjoy pay and perks from the tax payers’ money, are either on the streets politicking to bring down the government, making threatening revolutionary remarks that send chills down the common people’s spines, engaging in the blame game or busy in non-issues like stopping beauty pageants. Can the nation expect much from them?

Constituent Assembly Chairman Subash Chandra Nembang time and again has warned the top leaders of the big three parties to remain focused on penning the statute, instead they

are engaged in self-centered politics of trying to wrest

the chairmanship of the constitution committee

for themselves. Even after five deferrals of dates,

Nembang lamented that

six thematic committees and one constitutional are yet to submit preliminary concept papers.

CA officials say the constitution writing process

has taken a back seat as

the political party leaders are more involved in power equation than constitution making. They rarely turn up in the CA committee meetings, say CA officials. Where the nation will be in a month or a year is uncertain. Will the country succeed in its promise of peace and security?

All the major parties, in the name of freedom, exercised their rights in disrupting the House with the Maoists winning the laurels for the longest disruption. One would have expected the least from the major political parties, especially the Maoists, who always swear by their strength in the House to see the positive sides in other parties. To enforce their respective political agendas, various forms of bandhs first conceptualized by the UML, nurtured by the Nepali Congress and now institutionalized by the Maoists have virtually paralyzed the nation.

The common man’s aspirations to live and breathe freely in secure and peaceful surroundings have been almost reduced to a pipe dream. Recently, without mincing words, IGP Thakuri said that due to constant political meddling, police work has been hindered. Almost every chief at Hanuman Dhoka police office say informally, “If only I were free to work with my conscience, I would control crime within a month.” The police nab the culprits only to be released later under political pressure. Scenarios such as these have not only given rise to impunity, but in fact encouraged it.

Take the case of the bureaucracy, it is supposed to be a distinct entity safeguarding and enforcing

the functioning of daily affairs of the state and,

therefore, needs to stay

clear off all political ideology and influence.

However, the prevailing scenario here points out that both of them need each other’s support to fulfill their vested interests, as such, the political leadership and the bureaucracy move ahead hand-in-glove.

Today, on account of our political leader’s practices of politics without principles, we understand Nepal less and less and are taken aback by the chaos of it all. We are all in trouble and face challenges at home and abroad. To uplift itself the country now requires the hands, hearts and brains of every one of us. Perhaps, the common man is becoming wary of the fact that it is not the activity of the bad people that destroys the society but always the inactivity of the good people that does it.

(Chhetri is a journalist)