Its Supreme Court has formed a new Bench to help tide over the constitutional crisis there

Our immediate Himalayan neighbour, Nepal, seems to be slowly but steadily slipping into the anarchic ways of Myanmar. Just like the Generals of the armed forces of Myanmar (called the Tatmadaw), Nepal’s acting Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli doesn’t want to part with his powers at any cost. Just like the Burmese people, the Nepalese citizens are also fed up with their Prime Minister over his inept handling of pressing issues and overtly corrupt ways. Now, with the Nepal Supreme Court ordering the formation of a new Constitutional Bench to decide upon a clutch of petitions against the May 22 dissolution of the House of Representatives, mainly on the recommendation of Oli and acceded to by his rubber stamp, President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the Himalayan State is experiencing a fresh political crisis. Considering Oli’s quest for absolute control over the Government and political affairs, he will try again to derail the formation of a new Government. An egoist, authoritarian and assertive Prime Minister, he has successfully plunged Nepal into a greater, humanitarian, crisis even as the country is in the throes of a significant health crisis amid the second peak of COVID-19.

Even at its best, thanks especially to Oli’s (mis)governance, Nepal lacks all fundamental policy frameworks concerning disaster management, humanitarian crises or foreign policy. In a nutshell, on May 10, despite a protracted political battle, the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (UML) failed to prove majority in the Lower House of Parliament. The Prime Minister has since held a series of parleys with the Opposition, including the Nepali Congress and the Janata Samajbadi Party, for support after the erstwhile faction of the CPN(UML) led by former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ withdrew support to Oli’s Government, which is now in minority. Though India has carefully avoided making any comment on the matter, calling it “Nepal’s internal issue”, our main concern should be to pre-empt any attempts to thwart democracy and peace in the region. As the world’s largest democracy, it is India’s moral responsibility to not only ensure a healthy and vibrant democracy in its neighbourhood but also peace and development in the region, especially at this sensitive time when the world is busy battling the COVID-19 pandemic.