27th-03-2012

The looming end of the Constituent Assembly (CA) term on May 27 seems to be in everyone’s mind. Even the political leaders harp about the end of the CA term, but they do not make sincere efforts to sort out the contentious issues that have been a blockade for the drafting of the constitution. Of late, the integration of the former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army (NA) has come to become the sticking point. The integration aspect is on hold because of the inability of the major parties to come to a concrete decision regarding the number and the rank for the Maoist combatants for their entry into the Nepal Army. This has impeded any further development as regards writing the constitution. At this pace, there can be no doubt about the CA failing to draft the constitution and promulgating it by the May 27 deadline. Another obstacle is that even though the leaders go for marathon parleys and somehow or other cobble up an agreement to give the constitution-drafting task a go ahead, there is no time to get it approved through the CA—the procedures of which are not only cumbersome but time-consuming as well. And, the approval of the people is, of course, a far cry. A constitution for the people is stuck up because the political parties have their own vested interests which is in no way reflects the aspirations and anticipation of the Nepali citizens.

The whole constitution drafting process had envisaged people’s participation as an essential ingredient, but with the delaying tactics of the leaders it may not become a reality. Only when the people can put in their inputs can the drafted constitution be one that comes from the approval of the people. However, the leaders have a readymade answer in that the Constituent Assembly is a result of the people’s choice of who should represent them. Yet, what has been observed is that the lawmakers are mostly guided by the thoughts of the particular parties in question. So, what was originally meant to reflect the aspirations of the electorate has been lost somewhere. And, the big story of the people’s ownership of the new constitution may not materialise. The talk of a referendum to give the final stamp of approval too seems a mirage.

With a mere two months to go for the latest term extension of the Constituent Assembly to end, the major party leaders are still stumbling along with nothing to exhibit as an achievement in the real direction. The people have been forgotten, and it is only the few leaders of the major parties holding the rein not doing what it takes to give that impetus to the constitution drafting task. If the constitution is to include only the stances of the leaders, without the participation of the people, it would have been better if a panel of experts would have been commissioned to draft it, instead of taking years without any light at the end of the tunnel. A thought that the leaders had reformed the post-April revolution has proved to be wrong. They are as selfish and self-centred as ever, and to expect anything substantial from them would be only next to a miracle. And, if nothing happens within the next two months, the leaders stand to lose all credibility and face in front of the people.

Food for thought

Although the cases of food adulteration has come down, there is still a long way to go before food items are totally safe for consumption. Now, tt has been found that 9.84 per cent of the food items being sold in the market are adulterated. According to experts, this should be below three per cent to ensure better public health. It was also found that the problem areas were sweets, milk and water, where barely any progress was made by the way of reducing adulteration. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control has been more active in recent days which has resulted in the reduction of the cases of adulteration. No doubt, it should be credited for this achievement that concerns public health.

In the meantime, the consumers still are not certain as to whether the food they are consuming is safe. Those guilty of selling adulterated food items should be reprimanded and punished so that they do not indulge in the despicable act of selling adulterated food items. Meanwhile, the authorities need to be constantly on the alert monitoring the food items so that adulterated items are not sold.

Himal...

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