<figure><img width="2400" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14489c7e80680e0a996djpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Chiwan gears up for the 10th National General Convention of the CPN-UML on Friday. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s governance is once more grinding to halt as the two major parties, the Nepali Congress (NC) that leads the ruling coalition, and the opposition UML gear up for their general conventions.Such is the relentless focus on heated contest for influential posts within these parties that even the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-real-story-in-nepals-supreme-court-debacle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mutiny within the Supreme Court</a> against the Chief Justice has dropped off the headlines.  The conventions, during which Deuba and Oli will once again vie for top leadership positions within their respective parties, will take place even as the three branches of government are all tangled up. The UML conclave is being held in Chitwan this weekend, and the NC is holding its in mid-December in Kathmandu.The row over Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana has not only spot-lit the transactional relationship between the judiciary and executive, but also how the state is being held hostage by the internal power struggles within the main political parties.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-is-happening-to-nepals-supreme-court/">What is happening to Nepal’s Supreme Court?</a>, Santa Gaha MagarNepal’s current political turmoil came to a boil in December 2020 when Prime Minister KP Oli <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/president-endorses-parliament-dissolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolved the House</a> in response to a months-long <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">internal power struggle </a>between him and his Nepal Communist Party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The PM’s move was unsuccessful, as the Supreme Court restored the House in February 2021.This ultimately led to the Supreme Court deciding that the NCP unification was null and void, thus driving Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoists and UML dissenter Madhav Kumar Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to ally with the opposition</a> led by the NC’s Sher Bahadur Deuba.  Oli dissolved parliament for a second time in May and the Supreme Court once more deemed it unconstitutional, even ordering that Deuba replace Oli as prime minister.Deuba began his<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> fifth term as prime minister</a> in July, leading a five-party coalition government by proroguing parliament and passing an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/old-wine-in-old-bottle-in-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act</a> that made it easier for political parties to split.This was directly intended to allow his ally Madhav Nepal to break away from the UML and form his own party, so making it possible for him to team up with the coalition government and seek cabinet positions. Many saw the prime minister's move (something he and his own coalition partners had accused Oli of committing) as an undermining of the parliamentary process.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-post-breakup-politics/">Nepal’s post-breakup politics</a>, Santa Gaha MagarBut Deuba outdid Oli: after the ordinance had served its purpose and begun to become a burden during his much-delayed cabinet expansion, he got President Bidya Devi Bhandari to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/political-expediency-trumps-nepal-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">repeal it</a>.  Deuba was bitterly criticised for running roughshod over the Constitution, but he was happy to form a full government. In the days leading up to the Cabinet expansion, news emerged that Chief Justice Rana wanted his nominees to also be given ministerships. The public, media and the legal fraternity was outraged by this blatant violation of the separation of powers.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-govt-fills-cabinet-after-3-months/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Among Deuba’s cabinet picks</a> was Gajendra Bahadur Hamal for Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, who just happened to be the brother-in-law of Chief Justice Rana and an NC member.Both Justice Rana, as well as Deuba’s camp, vehemently denied having negotiated for Cabinet positions, but the damage had been done. Hamal could not stand the heat and resigned three days later, leading many to conclude that there had indeed been a deal between the chief justice and the prime minister.As the judiciary erupted in protest, the Supreme Court stopped scheduled hearings. The Supreme Court Bar Association, the Nepal Bar Association, former Supreme Court justices <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-lawyers-on-warpath-against-chief-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">called for boycotts</a> demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Rana.Rana has refused to step down, saying he would rather face an impeachment motion in the House, knowing fully well that the politicians did not have the stomach for it because of their own pending cases. A compromise of sorts was reached this week under which cases in the Supreme Court will be decided by a tamper-proof lottery-based cause list.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/non-government-of-nepal/">Non-government of Nepal</a>, Sonia AwaleNow, as the two major parties hold their general conventions as required by law, there are doubts about whether they serve any purpose when power is so centralised at the top leadership of parties even with federal devolution.“The Nepali Congress and the UML were revolutionary political parties formed after the democratic movement 30 years ago, they were expected to bring about great socio-economic transformation,” says political science professor Krishna Khanal. “But they face a great crisis, they are in a trap of their own making.”Khanal notes that the greatest challenges for Nepal’s political parties are not constitutional matters or public opinion and discourse, but conflicting ambitions within individual parties that could make them implode, as parties have done in the past.“There is no internal democracy within Nepal’s political parties,” laments Radheshyam Adhikari himself an NC MP. “The  Constitution stipulates that political parties must hold internal elections every five years, which Nepal’s major political parties have failed to do. They have therefore lost their public legitimacy.”Khanal and Adhikari agree that political parties have just become a collective of selfish people seeking to grab power for their own self-interest. The current political climate also brings into question the leadership of Nepal’s ageing political figures, and the need for a younger generation to step up to the stage.“Nepal’s political parties are a stagnant swamp, not a constantly flowing river,” Khanal says. “The same leaders from three decades ago are still holding and vying for power instead of passing the baton to a new generation of leaders who came post-2006.”Meanwhile, Nepalis are now so disillusioned with the current state of politics that they do not just blame the politicians, but to flaws in the Constitution and even the very concept of a secular multi-party federal state.  However, former law minister and ambassador to India Nilamber Acharya says the current state is not due to the Constitution, but the flagrant violation of its principles.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/india-nepal-ties-must-move-beyond-1950-treaty/">“India-Nepal ties must move beyond 1950 treaty”</a>, Nepali Times“The current political disarray is not due to republicanism or federalism, but due to the inability of elected leaders to bring those concepts into practice,” Acharya says. “The responsibility of preserving the democratic process and strengthening the republic lies primarily with the Nepali Congress and the UML.”  He adds, “The flaw lies not in democracy, but in the fact that we do not have a functioning democratic process. The multi-party system is not responsible, the deep factionalism within the parties, and the inability of leaders to work together for the national interest.”

Shristi Karki

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Unconventional party conventions

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d19199c7e80680e0ac7fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Wednesday, 20 October <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/who-wants-early-elections-and-why/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">marked 100 days since Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba assumed office</a>, for the fifth time in his political career, and head of a 5-party coalition.Soon after his appointment in July, now Defence Minister Minendra Rijal of the Nepali Congress (NC) was scathing in his criticism of the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> preceding K P Oli government</a>. He told a House session: “The Nepali people will now finally see for themselves how a government is actually supposed to function.”Nepalis have certainly seen first-hand how the coalition government has functioned, although not in a way Rijal meant it. Rather, this ‘honeymoon period’ has been characterised by<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/non-government-of-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> failures and incompetence</a>.It took Deuba a full 88 days to even <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-govt-fills-cabinet-after-3-months/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fill Cabinet positions</a>, as he attempted to reach a power-sharing agreement and divide ministerial portfolios within his political alliance.To be sure, not all the blame lies at Deuba’s doorstep. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-is-delaying-nepal-cabinet-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coalition partners haggled </a> with each other, and factions within the governing parties competed for quotas and plum ministerial berths.In order to keep his coalition intact, the prime minister’s first order of business was to prorogue Parliament in the midst of a budget debate so that he could <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/old-wine-in-old-bottle-in-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issue an ordinance</a> that would allow his ally Madhav Kumar Nepal to form a new party and join his coalition.Earlier this year, Deuba had been fiercely critical when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/parliamentary-whiplash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">K P Oli also dissolved Parliament</a> in an unsuccessful attempt to pass a similar ordinance, and instigate early elections. Deuba came out looking hypocritical at best.“This government chose to repeat the mistakes of its predecessor, the very ones that it deemed unconstitutional and undemocratic,” notes economist Keshav Acharya.The farce did not end there: Deuba then <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/political-expediency-trumps-nepal-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">repealed the ordinance</a> after it became an albatross around his neck as Nepal and the other coalition partner, the Janata Samajbadi Party, feared it would lead to further splits.The Cabinet expansion, when it did happen, ignited criticism from media, legal, and political spheres after news emerged that Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana wanted two of his nominees to be awarded ministries. Deuba appointed the Chief Justice’s brother-in-law Gajendra Hamal, an unelected NC member, as the Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister.If Deuba’s precious misdemeanours were tolerated, Hamal’s appointment was seen by many as crossing the line on the separation of powers and led to a public outcry and outrage on media. Hamal resigned three days later.“The fact that the leadership was unable to form a full Cabinet in time just confirmed to the public their worst perception towards the leadership,” adds Acharya.Contrary to its commitment to transparency, the government has continued to grant public appointments to party-affiliated candidates, some of whom are under investigation for professional discrepancies. Twelve of Nepal’s ambassadors <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/swapping-ambassadors-midway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">were abruptly recalled in September</a>, even those who had been relatively successful.The disarray in the coalition has brought important policy decisions as well as economic activities to a complete standstill. Dozens of important bills are stuck in Parliament. The federal civil service bill, which was supposed to be passed three years ago, has been withdrawn, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/missing-links-in-nepals-mcc-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Milennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratification</a> is stuck.“None of the promises made before and during the formation of the government has been fulfilled yet,” says former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal, “it looks very much as though the government is yet to find its feet.”Indeed, the prime minister has not even been able to appoint members to his own secretariat, and remains without economic, political, and foreign affairs advisers. Appointed ministers have failed to disclose their financial assets, as required by law.Even the decisions the government has finally taken have proven to be controversial – like the amendment to the budget that make it easier for money laundering by not requiring source of income for investors.Moreover, the failure to reach a consensus within the parties on issues of national importance, such as the budget, led to a government shutdown for the first time in the 71-year history of Nepal’s budget.According to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, only 3.42% of the government's development-targeted capital expenditure has been used during the first three months of the current fiscal year, down from 4.28% during the last fiscal year. Nepal’s ‘national pride projects’ are affected even as infrastructure damaged by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-monsoon-rain-ruins-nepals-crops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this monsoon’s devastating floods</a> need to be urgently repaired."The government has no roadmap for how to function,” says Kishor Thapa of Bibeksheel Sajha Party, “and bureaucracy cannot function in a leadership vacuum.”Prime Minister Deuba, in an interview in state-run Gorkhapatra said that the United States was ready to amend the MCC agreement to upgrade Nepal’s electricity transmission lines and highways. However, the project has become a victim of political infighting and geopolitics, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">even threatens the coalition</a>.Foreign policy has been another disaster. There have been no active attempts to address <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/untangling-the-kalapani-knot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s border disputes with India</a>,  and no investigation into the disappearance of a young Nepali man on the Mahakali border river. Instead, Deuba unnecessarily angered Beijing by setting up a committee to look into a long-settled border issue with China.With the 2022/23 elections a little over a year away, Deuba needs to improve performance if his NC is to get more votes this time. In fact, Deuba seems to be so nervous about this that he is batting for early elections.“This opportunity to form a government was pure luck,” a close Deuba aide admitted candidly, “so no clear goals or directions had been set at the time of government formation, there was and has been only confusion.”One of Deuba’s only success stories so far has been the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-jabs-and-jabnots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid vaccination drive</a> -- 30% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated so far, while 39% have received the first dose. China has promised a further 2 million vaccine doses.Former government secretary Krishna Gyawali sums up the first 100 days: “The leadership has been unable to make bold political decisions and reforms. While this government does not seem to have made things worse than the previous one, it certainly hasn’t done anything to make things better either.”Translated by Shristi Karki from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/126186">original</a> in www.himalkhabar.com.

100 DAYS

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d19159c7e80680e0ac7fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1149" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/who-wants-early-elections-and-why/">first 100 days of Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> as fifth-time prime minister is not a huge disappointment to Nepalis -- most did not expect much from it.To be sure, it is not all Deuba’s fault, but as prime minister the buck stops with him. He has taken the blame for infighting between and within coalition partners that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-is-delaying-nepal-cabinet-expansion/">delayed government formation</a>, for riding roughshod over the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/political-expediency-trumps-nepal-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Constitution</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-govt-fills-cabinet-after-3-months/">making controversial appointments</a>. But most of all, the government is seen to be uncaring about citizens ravaged by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/">floods</a> and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/helping-nepals-covid-orphans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemic</a>, as well as dismissive about the demand from long-excluded Nepalis for<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/"> social justice</a>.Perhaps nothing has driven home government indifference and neglect for the marginalised more than the treatment meted out to activists like Ruby Khan who walked for 20 days from Nepalganj to Kathmandu to highlight their demand for a fair investigation into the death of two women in Banke district for which they were given the runaround by local police and administration.Nakunni Dhobi, 38, was found dead in her home in July, and foul play was suspected because she had previously faced dowry-related violence. Nirmala Kurmi, 52, has been missing following the passing of her husband and the suspicious deaths of her two sons soon after. Khan had filed a case of kidnapping and murder against 12 people, including NC leader Badshah Kurmi, as part of a plan to take over her property.When the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/protesting-to-protect-the-right-to-protest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">activists</a> finally arrived in Kathmandu, tired, hungry and with blistered feet, the government arrested the activists. The Supreme Court later freed them, but Ruby Khan went on a hunger strike, until the government finally agreed to investigate the two cases.Few believe this will result in justice being delivered, as has been the case of previous high-profile cases of violence against women.“On one hand it is a great achievement that women from a minority community dared to come all the way to Kathmandu for justice and turn this into a national issue,” says journalist Namrata Sharma. “But that they had to resort to this, and were not able to get justice in Banke is a failure of our governance.”Indeed, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deuba-led coalition government</a> for the most part in the last three months has been embroiled in a power struggle ahead of the elections in 2023 and the concerns of the public get little importance. Commentators have gone as far as to say that Deuba has committed as many mistakes in three months as that made by K P Oli in three years.For Deuba’s faction-ridden party and coalition, the Ruby Khan case was just an inconvenient distraction in trying to keep his government intact, and to show the public that it is different than the K P Oli government it replaced in June. But 100 days later, he does not have much to show for it.In fact, commentators have said Deuba has violated the constitution more often in the past three months than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-pm-oli-goes-it-alone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oli did in the three years</a> he was prime minister. Members of Deuba’s own NC have been most critical of his dissolution of Parliament to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/old-wine-in-old-bottle-in-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pass an ordinance to help Madhav Kumar Nepal split from the UML</a>, and then repeal it after the deed was done.“Making laws to serve a particular political party or individual violates the Constitution,” said political analyst Shyam Shrestha. “This makes a mockery of the rule of law, and is unimaginable in a democracy.”And if that was not enough, Deuba allegedly had a pact with Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana to nominate two ministers. One of them, Rana’s brother-in-law, Gajendra Bahadur Hamal, was appointed to the Cabinet, but resigned three days later following a public uproar.Even when the coalition has acted decisively, it is for the wrong reason. The Finance Minister amended the Financial Act scrapping the requirement that investors needed to show source of income. This preceded revelations in the <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/global-investigation-tax-havens-offshore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pandora Papers</a> about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-richest-man-in-the-pandora-papers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali tycoons maintaining offshore shell companies </a>for money laundering.This week, Human Rights Watch slammed Nepal Police for using excessive force that killed four squatters protesting eviction in Butwal.All of this while the country is still reeling from what has been a disastrous monsoon season. Moreover, this week parts of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-monsoon-rain-ruins-nepals-crops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">western Nepal were hit with unseasonal downpours </a> that dumped 500mm of rain in 24 hours in some places, killing at least 100 people, destroying roads, and wiping out 20% of the country’s ready to harvest rice.Meanwhile, health experts across the country are on alert for a possible <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dasain-crowd-unmasked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">post-Dasain surge in Covid</a> cases as families mingle during the festivals while the contagious Delta variant is still circulating.Half of Kathmandu’s target population <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-jabs-and-jabnots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has been vaccinated</a> but the rest of the country is far behind, and as such hospitals and limited medical professionals must be on standby, especially with the onset of the winter season. More than 1,000 ventilators donated during the second wave are just sitting on store-rooms in hospitals across the country.The coalition government, however, has already set its sight on the 2023 elections but not on the fact that district hospitals have<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/donated-ventilators-gather-dust-in-nepal/"> ventilators but no doctor or nurse to operate it</a>, or that Nepal is yet to build a proper storage facility for vaccine for the inoculation of children against Covid-19.Says pulmonary specialist Raju Pangeni at HAMS Hospital: “Our priority now must be to vaccinate children across Nepal after the holidays, and with only Pfizer and Moderna certified for the younger population, we should already be preparing for the required storage facility.”

Sonia Awale

Non-government of Nepal

<figure><img width="3600" height="2454" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d19129c7e80680e0ac7fbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: ROSHAN SAPKOTA/RSS</figcaption></figure>Even as he completes his ‘honeymoon period’ in office,<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> is sending signals that he would like to call <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">early elections</a>.Already under fire for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-govt-fills-cabinet-after-3-months/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">non-performance and incompetence</a>,  his five-party coalition is in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">disarray</a>, and some in his own Nepali Congress (NC) want elections before the party’s popularity plummets further.Deuba led his five-party coalition into office on 13 July after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-court-orders-deuba-to-succeed-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Supreme Court reinstated the Lower House</a> that was dissolved by his predecessor K P Oli. But Deuba and some of his colleagues appear reluctant to allow Parliament to complete its full five-year term.The next elections are due in December-January 2022, and Parliament’s term is valid till April 2023. Besides his party’s election prospects, Deuba also wants early polls to defuse increasing dissent within his party from those dissatisfied with his leadership. This is the fifth time Deuba has been Nepal’s prime minister in the last 23 years. Those supporting Deuba’s push for early polls include leaders from all parties who lost in the 2017 polls, as well as coalition leaders who did not get ministerial portfolios in Deuba’s belated Cabinet expansion on 8 October. The opposition UML led by K P Oli has always batted for mid-term polls. Electoral calculations now even determine relations between the coalition partners and the NC itself. The Maoist Centre (MC), for instance, appears not too unhappy to place all blame for the government’s failures on the prime minister’s lap. In fact, Deuba has become the lightning rod, while <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pushpa-kamal-dahal-is-still-prachanda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">none of the criticism seems to rub off on the MC’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a> and the party’s ministers in government.“Voters are disillusioned, so the government must announce some bold initiatives in the public interest,” says the MC’s Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, who has served as education and health minister in previous governments. “The coalition must keep its unity intact till elections.” When Oli <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/president-endorses-parliament-dissolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolved the House for the first time</a> on 23 December 2020 after facing a mutiny within his Nepal Communist Party from Mahdav Kumar Nepal and Dahal, Deuba who was then the leader of the main opposition party, had supported his call for a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fresh electoral mandate</a>. The NCP then split into the MC and UML, and Nepal himself broke away from the UML to form the Unified Socialists (US).     It would be advantageous for the NC to call for early elections, since it would benefit from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-post-breakup-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split in the NCP and UML</a>,  as well as the Janata Samajbadi Party led by Upendra Yadav, which is also in the coalition.However, some NC insiders say that the real reason Deuba wants early polls is because of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-is-delaying-nepal-cabinet-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the party’s general convention</a>, which Deuba wants to postpone to blunt rising criticism from party stalwarts like Ram Chandra Paudel, Shekhar Koirala and others who want the convention to go ahead. The case for early polls and postponing the party convention is legally fraught, and Deuba will have to jump through some constitutional hoops if he is to announce it. “If the NC is going to postpone its general convention once again, the Election Commission could de-register its party name and election tree symbol,” says Punranjan Acharya, a political analyst.Meanwhile, Dahal’s MC is holding its own convention in December, and the party does not appear to be ready yet for early elections. The MC was formed after the Supreme Court refused to accept the unity of the Maoists and the UML to form the NCP in 2018.Dahal and the MC are already eying the NC as their prospective election rivals, and allowing Deuba to take the heat for the government’s many failures in the past 100 days. The Maoists see Deuba’s insistence on keeping the powerful Home, Defence and Foreign Ministries with the NC as a part of his elections strategy. Constitutional expert Bipin Adhikari says that elections are deemed to have been held on schedule only if they are held after Parliament completed four and half years. He also says local elections should be held first, followed by federal polls. This would mean that Deuba’s early polls, if held, would be very close to normal elections anyway.Party conventions used to be boisterous affairs, but except for the NC there does not seem to be much discussion about the MC, US and UML conventions. The reason could be that while the party leadership is being challenged in the NC by various factions, Dahal, Nepal and Oli seem to be firmly in control of their own parties.

Who wants early elections, and why?

<figure><img width="3600" height="2037" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141156/636d03599c7e80680e0a36cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: ROSHAN SAPKOTA/RSS</figcaption></figure>On Tuesday, President Bidya Devi Bhandari on the recommendation of the government repealed the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/old-wine-in-old-bottle-in-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act</a> that she herself signed on 26 August.Nepal’s ceremonial president was acting on orders of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-accidental-prime-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> who needed to relax a constitutional provision that made it  difficult to split parliamentary parties so that dissidents could break away from the UML and get him the majority to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deuba-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">form a government</a>.For this, Deuba first prorogued Parliament to issue the ordinance allowing political parties to split if 20% of the Central Committee and the parliamentary party voted for it – down from 40% needed in the Constitution. The ordinance on the constitutional amendment allowed UML dissidents led by Madhav Kumar Nepal to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-post-breakup-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">break away from former prime minister K P Oli’s UML</a> to form a new party, the UML (Unified Socialist) and join Deuba’s five-party political alliance.Nepal’s Unified Socialists was registered at the Election Commission with 95 Central Committee members, 58 of whom defected from from Oli’s UML. Deuba’s ordinance also enabled <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mahanta Thakur</a> to form his own Loktantrik Samajbadi Party after the Election Commission gave the leadership of his Janata Samajbadi Party to Upendra Yadav. Thakur had been demoted from the JSP’s Central Committee for supporting Oli. The ordinance, which needed to be ratified by Parliament within 60 days, had been weighing Deuba down, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/government-in-installments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delaying his Cabinet expansion</a>. While Nepal was been worried that the ordinance might not be ratified and his new party would have no legal standing, Upendra Yadav wanted the ordinance scrapped to prevent his own JSP from splitting further.With the repeal of the ordinance, the way is now clear for Deuba to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-is-delaying-nepal-cabinet-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expand his Cabinet</a>. But this has come at great moral and legal cost for Deuba who is seen to have bent the Constitution to fulfil his partisan interest.  "Making laws to serve a particular political party or individual is a blow to the democratic system," says political analyst Shyam Shrestha. "This makes a mockery of the rule of law, and is unimaginable in a democracy.” In a democratic system, ordinances are issued only when the House is not in session, as legal facilitation to matters of national import. However, PM Deuba suspended parliament in August just so he could issue the party split ordinance with the sole purpose of allowing Madhav Nepal to form a new party. Now he has withdrawn the ordinance, and is pretending that everything is back to normal.Deuba is just following the steps of his predecessor, K P Oli who himself suspended Parliament last year and issued an ordinance allowing political parties to split if 40% of either the parliamentary party or the Central Committee agreed to it. The 2015 Constitution actually prohibited parties from splitting at all. At the time, Deuba, who was in the opposition,  had joined Oli’s political rival<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pushpa-kamal-dahal-is-still-prachanda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Pushpa Kamal Dahal </a>of the Maoists and Madhav Nepal in calling Oli’s move “unconstitutional and unacceptable”. Oli was forced to withdraw the ordinance even before President Bhandari signed it following fierce criticism from all sides.This time, while Dahal and Nepal stayed mum, Deuba’s ordinance move has drawn heavy flak from across the political spectrum including from within his own NC. “The ordinance was not justified at all, it was done solely for short-term political expediency, and now we are in a constitutional void where the 40% provision also needs to be passed by ordinance again,” says advocate Radheshyam Adhikari.In a scathing Tweet, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Kamal Thapa posted: ‘This an example of corrupt and shameless politics.’Article 5 of <a href="https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/interpretation-of-laws-act-2010-1954.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s Interpretation of Laws Act</a> states that the repeal of any Act amending an original law will not affect the implementation of the amendment: ‘Where any Act repeals any enactment by which the text of any Act or Rules/Regulation/by-law was amended by the express omission, insertion or substitution of any matter, then unless a different intention appears the repeal shall not affect the continuance of any such amendment made by the enactment so repealed and in operation at the time of such repeal.’Indeed, Shyam Shrestha says that the very government which issued the ordinance recommending that it be repealed is confirmation that it was  wrong move in the first place: “If it was incorrect to introduce the ordinance, why was it issued? And if it was the right thing, why was it then repealed?”Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/125978?fbclid=IwAR0_5QW4aVuraQgc3NFpoWO1f1IVXL4Qg5HDF8gQ-4Tl4C91hV2eTLWpfvo">original</a> in www.himalkhabar.com

Political expediency trumps Nepal Constitution

<figure><img width="800" height="478" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfddd9c7e80680e0a0c0ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Leaders of Oli-led UML gather for a photo after a Standing Committee meeting on 24 August. Photo: PRADEEP GYAWALI/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s Election Commission on Wednesday evening officially recognised and certified Madhav Kumar Nepal’s UML (Socialist) and Mahanta Thakur’s Loktantrik Samajwadi (LSP) parties. Nepal’s disagreement with K P Oli ended up <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-1-step-forward-2-steps-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">splitting Nepal’s largest party</a>,  even though Oli has managed to woo back a dozen or so of the most influential Nepal-backers. In almost identical but reverse symmetry, Thakur had sided with Oli, and that too ended up splitting his JSP so that he had to form a new one. The registration of two new political parties has taken the total number of political parties in Nepal to 97. However, the way political leaders including <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Deuba</a>, and Oli when he was head of government, bent constitutional rules to suit their short-term power games does not bode well for Nepal’s democracy, and future governance. Earlier on Wednesday, 59 lawmakers from the UML had identified themselves in favour of the UML (Socialist) at the Election Commission, while 14 MPs from the JSP were verified for the LSP. <figure><img width="800" height="473" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfddf9c7e80680e0a0c0bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Madhav Kumar Nepal and other leaders arrived at the Election Commission on Wednesday to verify for the Nepal-led UML (Socialist) party. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>The two new entities were able to split from their mother parties after Prime Minister Deuba of the centrist Nepali Congress (NC) <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/old-wine-in-old-bottle-in-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bypassed the Constitution with an ordinance</a> last week allowing political parties to split with only 20% support from the Central Committee and the parliamentary parties.To do this, Parliament had to be adjourned despite a crucial budget debate. But he needed to go through with it to accommodate Nepal’s group in his five-party alliance government as a reward for mutinying against Oli, and bringing down his government in June.Most political moves have something to do with elections in mind, and these power dynamics are also dictated by polls. Some see Deuba’s move to split Nepal’s largest party, the UML, as a shrewd move ahead of polls scheduled for 2023.But Sher Bahadur Deuba also got badly exposed for hypocrisy. In 2020, he had spoken out vehemently against <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-pm-oli-goes-it-alone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">K P Oli’s attempt to pass a similar ordinance</a>, and his ordinance was sharply criticised across the political aisle, including from within his own NC. These new circumstances will not only impact how the UML and JSP will move forward, but have far-reaching consequences for Nepal’s political and parliamentary processes. Cabinet expansionIt has been 40 days since he assumed office, but Deuba seems to be in no particular hurry to expand his Cabinet beyond just the four ministers he has from the Maoists and his own NC. However, we have word that he is working behind the scenes, trying to divide up ministerial positions, balance competing demands from his five-party alliance that propelled him to prime ministership <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deuba-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for the fifth time</a>.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfde29c7e80680e0a0c0cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal attend newly-appointed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's oath of office in July. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>There is no doubt that his ordinance move was meant to facilitate his ally Madhav Nepal’s participation in government. NC leaders admit that Deuba will move to fill the Cabinet quickly now that the UML split is official.  "We had been waiting for Madhav Nepal," says NC joint general secretary and close Deuba confidante Prakash Sharan Mahat, “the cabinet should now be complete within the next couple of days.” UML (Socialist) leader Veduram Bhusal says that although there has not been a formal decision to join Deuba’s government, the party will remain in the coalition.  “Madhav Nepal played a significant role in forming the current government, and the government is even stronger now that our party has been officially recognised,” he said. Parliament serves a full term In July, Deuba received 165 votes in Parliament to pass the floor test, including from 22 lawmakers from the Nepal faction of the UML and surprisingly, from the entire pro-Oli Mahanta Thakur faction within the JSP.  That Deuba got that support beyond the required simple majority of 138 votes increased the likelihood that Parliament will after all be able to serve its full term after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oli dissolved it twice</a> amid fierce infighting within his party. Possible UML reunification The UML was established in 1990 after the unity of two communist parties and had split once before in 1997 only to be reunited three years later.  So, there is still a slight possibility that history will be repeated. Indeed, as Madhav Nepal moves forward with his rump party, Oli has also been planning his next political move.  The former prime minister has been stepping up party activities standing shoulder to shoulder with his enemies and staunch former Madhav Nepal allies like Bhim Rawal, Astalaxmi Shakya, Surendra Pandey, Ghanshyam Bhusal, Yogesh Bhattarai, Gokarna Bista, and Raghuji Pant. These gentlemen, and one lady, obviously saw their electoral prospects would be brighter if they remained in the original UML with Oli. New electoral alliances Besides negotiations on government formation, leaders of the Maoist (Centre), UML (Socialist), and JSP have already begun to explore the possibility of forming an electoral alliance ahead of the polls in 2023.  In fact, political analyst Shyam Shrestha believes that Mohan Baidha and Netra Bikram Chand factions of the Maoists could also join the alliance if Madhav Nepal’s party “adopts a slightly more revolutionary path”. Considering the similar ideological backgrounds of leaders like Upendra Yadav, Baburam Bhattarai, Ashok Rai, Mahendra Rai Yadav, and Rakam Chemjong, a ‘socialist’ alliance indeed looks possible —at least on paper.  However, the implosion of the ambitious UML-Maoist (Centre) merger into the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) that barely lasted three years has made leftist leaders wary of forging similar marriages of convenience. Says Giriraj Mani Pokhrel of the Maoists (Centre): “The UML and the Maoist (Centre) have both learned that unity is only possible if all parties involved are on the same page regarding political, ideological and organisational issues, and that such a meeting of minds lasts.” Transliteration by Shristi Karki from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/125597">Himal Khabar original</a> in Nepali.

Nepal’s post-breakup politics

<figure><img width="2777" height="2385" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfd6c9c7e80680e0a0be3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>A month after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-court-orders-deuba-to-succeed-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">downfall of his government</a>, K P Oli's inability to keep his party together is still rocking Nepal's larger politics with aftershocks.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-accidental-prime-minister/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> has repeated transgressions of his predecessor to allow political parties to split through ordinance -- exactly the sin his five-party alliance <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pressure-mounts-on-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accused Oli of committing</a> to oust him.Deuba ended the Parliament session, the budget debate be damned, just so that he could get President Bidya Devi Bhandari to sign the ordinance that that will now allow his ally Madhav Kumar Nepal to form a new party.The ordinance allows political parties to split even if only 20% of the Central Committee and the parliamentary party support it — obviously meant to allow Madhav Nepal’s UML (Socialist) party to break away from Oli’s mainstream UML so it can join the government.But Deuba’s move has been condemned across the political spectrum, including from within his own Nepali Congress (NC) where there was scathing rebuke from senior members.  ‘It doesn’t matter who does it, it is wrong to pass an ordinance like this in a democracy. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now,’ the NC’s Gagan Thapa posted on Twitter. ‘Anyone who stood against Oli’s moves back then has no right to support it at this time.’ The NC’s Shekhar Koirala described his own boss’ decision to end the Parliament session to directly influence the division of another political party as being ‘against the culture of the Nepal Congress’.  <blockquote>संसद अधिवेशन हठात अन्य गरेर संसद छल्दै अध्यादेश ल्याउनु गलत!हिजो गलत,आज गलत,सधैं गलत,जसले गरेपनि गलत 👎️ हिजो ओलीले ल्याउँदा गलत भन्ने,त्यसको विरुद्धमा उभिने कसैलाई पनि आज समर्थन गर्ने हक छैन/हुँदैन।समर्थन गर्ने भए त्यतिवेला विरोध गरेकोमा सार्वजनिक माफी माग्नुपर्छ।— Gagan Thapa (@thapagk) <a href="https://twitter.com/thapagk/status/1427831835984236547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote> Experts agree that ordinances passed to serve short-term partisan interests will have far-reaching consequences for Nepal’s political and parliamentary processes. “The prime minister passed this ordinance allowing parties to split with just 20% support, what if in future other ordinances bring down the required votes to 10%, or even 5%,” asks political analyst Puranjan Acharya. Oli seems to have gotten wind of Deuba’s move, and on Tuesday expelled 14 party members including Madhav Nepal before that could happen. That sealed the fate of the UML.“We tried our best until the final moment to keep the party united, but K P Oli closed the door,” Nepal said at a virtual public sector meeting on Tuesday.However, Deuba’s supporters in the party saw it as a shrewd move to split the powerful UML so that his party would be better placed in elections in 2023.Nepal moved quickly on Wednesday to register his CPN-UML (Socialist) at the Election Commission with 95 Central Committee members, 58 among which have switched over with him from Oli’s UML.However, popular second-echelon leaders like Bhim Rawal, Gokarna Bista and Ghanashyam Bhusal, who had been mediating between the two leaders, have not joined Nepal’s new party. They appear to have feared a backlash for supporting the NC, and also seen better prospects in elections if they stayed on in the UML. <img width="2106" height="1320" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfd6f9c7e80680e0a0be4jpeg.jpg" alt="">Ironically, Deuba’s ordinance seems to have also directly benefited Mahanta Thakur, who had also been demoted from the JSP’s Central Committee for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/going-down-with-the-ship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">supporting Oli</a>.If it were not for the ordinance, Thakur would not have been able to muster the 40% of parliamentary party membership that was earlier required to register his own JSP (Democratic). The UML <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split despite efforts by the rank-and-file to keep it together</a> only because Oli and Nepal could not get along. Nepal accused Oli of authoritarianism, and Oli was angry about Nepal siding with the opposition alliance to unseat him. But at the heart of it was an ego-clash between Nepal's top communists.'Nepal’s communist movement is built on the revolutionary vision of our forefathers and the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs and warriors, and we want to prevent it from collapse,' Madhav Nepal said in a statement. “To achieve our goal, and to move in the direction of scientific socialism, we must take firm steps towards our national independence and self-respect.’The UML was established in 1990 after the unity of two communist factions, and split before in 1997 only to be reunited three years later. There is no reason why it cannot do so again if Oli and Nepal are out of the picture. Deuba’s five-party coalition has undoubtedly been playing the long game, with eyes on the 2023 local, provincial and federal polls and to recoup its drubbing in 2017. The bigger question now is how the hydra-headed five party alliance is going to divide up the spoils of government ahead of those elections. But as farsighted as Deuba may be about political strategy, he has not been as efficient in forming a government to tackle the country’s multiple crises. He has been unable to expand his cabinet beyond four ministers, and Nepal’s foreign and labour ministries at a crucial time remain without a leader even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bring-us-home-says-nepali-in-kabul/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">thousands of Nepalis trapped</a> in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/who-will-rescue-nepalis-from-afghanistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">await repatriation</a>.The delay is due to Deuba having to balance conflicting claims to senior ministerial berths from his alliance partners. He has to appease his once arch-enemy Pushpa Kamal Dahal, accommodate the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kingmaker JSP</a>, and reward Nepal for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/parliamentary-whiplash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bringing in the swing votes to oust Oli</a>. All the while, he has to keep rival factions within his own party led by Ram Chandra Poudel at bay.This political disarray among Nepal’s three biggest parties is to the advantage of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-party-reincarnating-hindu-monarchy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">royal-Hindu-right parties</a> who want to cash in on public disillusionment by flagging secularism, federalism and even republicanism as being unsuitable for Nepal.Rabindra Mishra of the alternative Bibeksheel-Sajha party has felt the public pulse, and knows there is considerable support for Nepal reverting to a Hindu state, if not a monarchy, and called for a referendum. Factions in the other parties also sympathise with this potentially potent election agenda, some more openly than others. The fierce reaction from mainstream parties against Mishra shows just how insecure they have become, but even this threat to roll back the Constitution has not been enough to end the infighting between and within them.Like all alliances, this will be fickle, driven by the self-interest of politicians with one eye on elections.

Old wine in old bottle in Nepal politics

<figure><img width="2016" height="1186" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06e69c7e80680e0a5f8djpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>UML's Madhav Kumar Nepal and Sher Bahadur Deuba during the unstable coalition politics of the mid-1990s, when both were rising in influence within their parties. Photo: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>On Monday, Nepal's Supreme Court restored the House of Representatives that Prime Minister KP Oli had dissolved for the second time on 22 May. It then <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-court-orders-deuba-to-succeed-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ordered the Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to be installed as the next Prime Minister</a>. Sher Bahadur Deuba has now been appointed Prime Minister for the 5th time and preparations are already underway to form a new cabinet of ministers. Maoist Centre’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been tasked to finalise ministerial portfolios with Deuba while JSP has called a meeting of the Central Executive Committee today to decide on the ministers. In his address to the nation on Tuesday afternoon, outgoing Prime Minister Oli said that his party would accept the verdict but delivered a pointed rebuke to the Supreme Court ruling, including its decision to stop any action against UML dissidents, claiming that the move would undermine the multi-party system and democracy. “Such misinterpretation of the constitution for the fulfilment of certain aspirations of certain individuals has, in fact, served to amend the constitution regressively. Our democratic system will have to pay the price for the political implications of this decision,” he said. He added: “I had the people’s mandate but the order of the Supreme Court was in Sher Bahadur Deuba’s favour.” <figure><img width="1440" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06e89c7e80680e0a5f8ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Deuba, leading a five-party alliance of 146 MPs — from his own Nepali Congress, the Maoist Centre, as well dissident factions of the JSP and the UML — had filed a writ petition on 24 May after President Bidya Bhandari <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">thwarted claims of a House majority to form the next government</a>.The Supreme Court verdict by Chief Justice Cholendra JB Rana and his bench was the apotheosis of Oli’s years-long <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attempt to hold on to power</a>, characterised by bitter infighting within the erstwhile NCP, ultimately leading to his estrangement from the party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal as well as from comrades within his own UML.Ahead of his appointment, Deuba welcomed the Supreme Court’s order in a press release put out on Tuesday morning, which stated that the decision had put the constitution—which had veered off-course— back on track, and reinstated the faith and trust of the people in an independent judiciary.“Rather than taking the court’s decision as a matter of personal win or loss, the decision must be used for the betterment of our democracy, constitution, and our country and its people,” it read.Meanwhile, UML lawmaker Bijay Subba in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling said the right to appoint the Prime Minister lies only within parliament and blamed lawmakers for taking politics to the court.“The constitution clearly states the rights of the legislative, executive, and the judiciary. The court does not have the right to select the Prime Minister. It is against the principle of separation of powers,” he said.Subba also deemed the court’s ruling to stop any action against the UML dissidents unconstitutional, saying, “In a party system, per the spirit of the constitution, parliamentarians must align with the party whip.”Responding to the accusation, the Supreme Court said that it was the president’s responsibility to appoint the prime minister. But in case of an unconstitutional action, it will take steps to rectify them. <figure><img width="1440" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06eb9c7e80680e0a5f8fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="1440" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06ee9c7e80680e0a5f90jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1440" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06f19c7e80680e0a5f91jpeg.jpg" alt="">Now, the newly-appointed Prime Minister must seek a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives within 30 days under Article 76(4) of the constitution. Any member of the house who backs PM Deuba shall not be penalised for not voting along party lines, the Supreme Court also ordered. If Deuba gets a majority, he cannot be subjected to any future no-confidence motion and will remain Prime Minister for the remainder of the tenure of the House and preside over the next election. But if he fails to get a vote of confidence, the President, on Deuba’s recommendation, will dissolve the House once again and set a date for elections to be held within the next six months, per Article 76(7) of the constitution. Monday’s Supreme Court verdict also barred any disciplinary action against the UML dissidents who were a part of Deuba’s alliance. However, Madhav Kumar Nepal, who led the dissident UML faction in support of Deuba’s Prime Ministership bid, withdrew his support from the opposition alliance following the court ruling. Oli had been trying to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-up-is-hard-to-do/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">patch things up</a> with Nepal before the verdict, with working groups from both sides having come up with a 10-point deal to address differences within the UML. But between the appointment of Deuba as the new prime minister and Nepal withdrawing his support from the opposition, the fate of UML and its unification remains undecided.

Reinstate, remove, repeat

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

As soon as she milks her cow, 52-year-old Punam B K is off, pedaling her bicycle furiously along the highway with a blue milk can in the front basket.&nbsp; By the time she arrives at the Jaya Shiva Ganesh Dairy Producers Cooperative in Gopalganj village, others are already there, their bicycles parked on the roadside. The farmers are all holding on to their blue milk cans, and are chatting away.&nbsp; “We keep what is needed for the family, and sell whatever remains here at the cooperative,” says B K, as the volume, fat and non-fat solid content of her milk is measured. It is then poured into a bigger vat to be mixed with milk from other farmers. B K collects her receipt with the value of her milk, and prepares to head home. The farmers are reimbursed on a quarterly basis.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-family-that-works-together-stays-together">A family that works together stays together</a>, Sahina Shrestha “Everyone around here has at least a cow or buffalo to provide milk for the family, the cowdung is used for fertiliser, and we can bring whatever is left over to the cooperative,” says B K who, like the others, brings her milk by bicycle twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_0df32c0f6a572aef83eca02dc7a86f75ea5dbc88dc6c2390d42a44ab3cc93395.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241210081232_0df32c0f6a572aef83eca02dc7a86f75ea5dbc88dc6c2390d42a44ab3cc93395" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  All this may seem like nothing special, just an ordinary farmer selling her milk. But it has to be seen in the context of dairy farmers overcoming subsistence and increasing household income. Nearly 200,000 dairy farmers from over 1,200 cooperatives have not been paid by the government-run DDC for their milk for a year or more.&nbsp; The DDC has fixed a quota for buying milk from cooperatives that limits production even during the peak winter months. Farmers in Chitwan are so fed up, they have staged demonstrations in Kathmandu and even poured milk on the East-West Highway in protest.&nbsp; Punam B K’s milk ends up in Bhawani Dairy, a milk processing plant in Chitwan that buys milk from various cooperatives in the district. It was established six years ago by three entrepreneur cousins Devrath Baral, Drishya Baral and Subash Paudel and is now being supported by the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) project.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_4e3c65390b9c5345f807b10cbb8c36b006ef6d3cb972e07b5067f4b2db2be32e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241210081232_4e3c65390b9c5345f807b10cbb8c36b006ef6d3cb972e07b5067f4b2db2be32e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1102" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  This UK-funded project implemented by Swisscontact in Nepal has been supporting agro-businesses in 23 countries in Asia and Africa. They focus on improving the capacity of private dairy and vegetable farmers to find markets and build a sustainable supply chain for their produce. It helps dairies like the one in Chitwan with branding and marketing, as well to track business through a Dairy Management System (DMS) digital database.&nbsp; Bhawani Dairy also got support to conduct orientation for cooperative farmers to learn about new ways to boost productivity with breeding, cowshed management and hygiene maintenance. Many commercial farmers in Chitwan, some with up to 60 cows and buffaloes, have benefited.&nbsp; B K says she only has six cows, so not everything she hears at the orientation about increasing cowshed area is applicable. “We are just happy our milk is not wasted, and we can earn some cash from the surplus,” she says.&nbsp; Bhawani Dairy’s clientele is based entirely in Chitwan and in towns along the East-West Highway. But building on its success here, the company is looking to expand nationwide and target the Kathmandu market. Being a perishable product, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/nepal-s-milk-heartland-rebounds">diary business is challenging</a>. Businesses also need investment and technical support to diversify into value-added milk products like cheese, yoghurt, ice cream or powdered milk.&nbsp; “For now, the best thing we as a dairy business can do for farmers is to buy their milk at a decent price and pay them in time,” says Drishya Baral of Bhawani Dairy.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_6c06efb5674dbcd8679015af543bfda87030755383a13c9269e272af28e85953.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241210081232_6c06efb5674dbcd8679015af543bfda87030755383a13c9269e272af28e85953" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  Another agro-industry supported by CASA since 2018 is Himalayan Supervores, a venture that sources farm produce to supply vegetables and other foods to restaurants and hotels in the city, and even export Halal-certified produce to Gulf countries.&nbsp; CASA helped with cold chain management system to keep vegetable produce fresh so that the products earn trust about quality in the national and international market. Himalayan Supervores is already exporting to UAE and Qatar, and is targeting other Gulf countries next. “The guidance provided by the international expert was invaluable, we could not have bought that knowledge even with money,” says Nelson Shrestha of Himalayan Supervores. “It was not about fancy hardware, but how to minimise wastage, increase productivity, save time and money.”&nbsp; Though Himalayan Supervores collects vegetables from vegetable cooperatives, it indirectly works with a network of thousands of cooperative farmers. Its catchment area therefore is enormous, and it has enhanced their knowledge about organic farming methods, bio-pesticides, and the right way to handle and package vegetables. CASA’s most recent tie-up is with Pokhara-based Poshilo Foods, which specialises in increasing the shelf-life of local nutritional food items. During the Covid lockdown <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p3bparajuli/">Prithwi Kallyan Parajuli</a> saw an opportunity to supply nutritional foods that stayed longer, and set up Poshilo.&nbsp; It took traditional satu flour made from dry-roasted pulse, added more nutrients, and packaged it. Four flavours of satu with nutrient values differentiated for various age groups now line the shelves of supermarket chains like KK Mart, Saleways. Poshilo is now exploring the export market in India.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_a8dbea8c8d45ac4eff6c37fb47da7ff461989c662ba86d207a008381101acdcf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241210081232_a8dbea8c8d45ac4eff6c37fb47da7ff461989c662ba86d207a008381101acdcf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  In the five years of helping Nepali agribusinesses, CASA has already teamed up with 35 established companies. Parajuli heaps fulsome praise on the catalytic support and guidance he got early on, not just for product design, but to explore market viability, branding and marketing.&nbsp; He has participated in government-led programs before, but says those are one-off and focus only on technical solutions and do not pay much attention to the important back-end work with management and sales.&nbsp; Says Devrath Baral of Bhawani Dairy in Chitwan: “We would probably have eventually got to where we are now, but it would have taken years longer without CASA. And now we can share our experience with other agribusinesses in Nepal.”

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