TOPIC – Showing the way outIn what must be a
déjà vu moment for outgoing Prime Minister K.P. Oli and President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the Supreme Court of Nepal set aside their
dissolution, in May, of the House of Representatives. The apex court had in February overruled Mr. Olli’s decision to dissolve the House in December 2020 as well. But this time, the ruling was more than just a rap on his
knuckles. The judgment also
paved the way for Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress to be appointed as Prime Minister after recognizing his claim based on signatures of 149 lawmakers across different parties affirming their support. The five member Constitutional Bench also provided the way out of the unending political
deadlock in the House by allowing individual lawmakers to ignore their party
whips during a trust vote that is a must win for Mr.Deuba. The inability of Mr. Oli and Mr. Deuba to win trust votes, prior to the dissolution decision by Ms. Bhandari, was because the support for them in the 275member House divided both the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (UML) and the Opposition Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) as rebel lawmakers risked suspension. The court’s decision earlier in the year to derecognize the merged Nepal Communist Party was another factor too. Mr. Oli had minority support within the merged NCP, but his faction
retained the endorsement of the bulk of the legislators in the demerged UML. The rebels, led by Madhav Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal, were limited to a smaller faction. The other component of the NCP, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), meanwhile endorsed Mr. Deuba’s candidacy, while the JSP was split vertically, with the Mahantha Thakur Rajendra Mahatoled faction supporting Mr. Oli as opposed to the Baburam Bhattarai Upendra Yadavled faction. It remains to be seen whether the lawmakers will now vote based on their individual agency with the fear of suspension gone. There is no guarantee that Mr. Deuba will win a trust vote as he must secure the support of the rebel factions within the UML and the JSP. The Madhav Nepalled faction, which has not endorsed Mr. Oli and welcomed the judgment, has also been a
mercurial force undecided on joining hands with the Opposition in this new situation. Nevertheless, this is a blow to Mr. Oli whose
brinkmanship and authoritarian tendencies have come at a difficult time for Nepalis
reeling from the COVID19 outbreak. It is also a
stinging rebuke to Ms. Bhandari whose actions as President Rubber stamping her former party colleague Mr. Oli’s decisions have called into question her role as a constitutional functionary. Mr. Deuba has his task cut out, but a firm message of unity and consultative governance can bring about political stability, something that has long eluded Nepal during both its constitutional monarchy and its republican periods.
The Hindu Editorial Words with meanings, synonyms, and antonyms
Knuckles (noun) – A small metal weapon
Synonyms – Fists, defer, joints, caves, hinges
Antonyms –Beat, control, clobber, crush, circumvent
Paved (adjective) – Covered with a firm surface
Synonyms – Tiled, covered, tarred, tarmac, asphalting
Antonyms – Stripped, caliche-topped, stopped, unpaved, closed
Deadlock (noun) – A situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
Synonyms – Impasse, stalemate, logjam, halt, cessation
Antonyms – Accord, alacrity, acquiescence, concord, resolution
Whips (verb) – Defeat thoroughly
Synonyms – Whisks, scourges, thrashes, churns, flagellates
Antonyms – Daunt, deter, dissuade, surrenders, deaden
Retained (adjective) – Continued in your keeping or use or memory
Synonyms – Recalled, embraced, adhered, heeded, reminisced
Antonyms – Dismissed, relinquished, delegated, destructible, mislaid
Mercurial (adjective) – Liable to sudden unpredictable change
Synonyms – Capricious, fickle, erratic, flighty, protean
Antonyms – Tranquil, abiding, ceaseless, enduring, inevitable
Brinkmanship (noun) – The policy of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of disaster
Synonyms – Bluffing, politicking, tactics, maneuvering, clownishness
Antonyms – Anguish, calm, quench, static, aid
Reeling (verb) – Lose one’s balance and stagger
Synonyms – Dizzy, giddy, vertiginous, swaying, gyrating
Antonyms – Abstemious, sensible, clearheaded, sober, on the wagon
Stinging (noun) – A kind of pain
Synonyms – Caustic, mordant, scathing, acerbic, acrid
Antonyms – Febrile, feverish, sweltry, torrid, broiling
Rebuke (noun) – An act or expression of criticism and censure
Synonyms – Reprimand, reprove, chide, berate, admonition
Antonyms – Eulogy, extol, flatter, panegyrize, approbation
