Resolve Madhesi-Kathmandu confrontation
Various Madhesi parties' decision to boycott coming May's local body elections is a bad omen for the sustenance of peace and vibrant democracy in Nepal. The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) has given a call for not just the poll boycott but also for the revival of its struggle to get the Government to amend the Constitution by factoring in its concerns. Nepal can ill-afford another round of agitation — the most recent one had led to a road blockade which affected the movement of essential goods into Nepal from India and created an unprecedented crisis. Besides, dozens of people had lost their lives in the protests. While the Madhesis have many demands, the principal one has to do with the revision of provincial boundaries. This, along with proportional representation, has been the bone of contention for long between recent Governments and the Madhesi organisations. It had been expected that the Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda's' Government would be swift in addressing the issues. This was because Prachanda and the communist party he heads had been aligned with the Madhesis in their struggle for constitutional amendments and Prachanda himself had been a strong votary of the changes the Madhesi front has been seeking. But things haven't worked out quite as expected, with the Prachanda regime running into complications while tackling the matter. The Nepalese Prime Minister has assured of a solution at the earliest, but the Madhesis are already upset over what they see as a betrayal. The UDMF has already withdrawn support to the Government, and though this withdrawal does nothing to destabilise the Government, it does raise concerns over the developments ahead. The Madhesi groups are not going to rest with the boycott of this one election; they will seek to disrupt other, bigger ones too. That all is not well within the communist party Prachanda heads on the issue, is evident. Months ago, one of the party's tallest leaders and former Prime Minister, Baburam Bhattarai, quit the organisation — and while there could be many reasons for his departure, the failure of his erstwhile party to address the Madhesi cause was certainly one of the prominent ones. On its part, the Prachanda Government has maintained that the new proposals it introduced in the direction of amendments once had the Madhesi groups' blessings.
For India, the events are worrisome. It cannot remain unaffected by turmoil from across a border that is an open one. Its links with Nepal has history which cannot be negated. Besides, it cannot take sides between the Madhesis and the Prachanda regime. During KP Oli's tenure as Prime Minister and the blockade too, anti-India feelings had reached a high in Nepal. Various Nepalese politicians had blamed India for the crisis. If there is a Madhesi-Kathmandu confrontation yet again, there are elements within Nepal who will accuse New Delhi for the situation. India needs to tread with care.