Fomenting trouble

EDITORIAL

The Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar should have known better than to make irresponsible remarks like promising to severe Kailali and Kanchanpur from the far-west region, and this shows that he does not deserve the high post in the government. His promise should be taken as fueling further social cleavage that is surfacing in the country in recent times. Gachhadar should have realized this for his remarks have served to further widen the social schism. He should have refrained from making this type of statement at a time when the country is unfortunately being divided on the basis of class, caste, ethnicity and region which it could do without.

If DPM Gachhadar wants to show more statesmanship he had better refrain from making these statements and instead he should try to narrow the divide. Severing Kailali and Kanchanpur from the far-west region would further incite communal tensions in the far western region which he should have been well aware of. That he made such a statement when the country is with a caretaker government with the Constituent Assembly dissolved and without a parliament is even more tragic.

As the DPM and Home Minister, Gachhadar must and is expected to play responsible politics and not only act and speak to appease and promote his political constituency. This is the need of the hour because irresponsible statements made by those in the powerful posts of the government encourage and serve to incite hatred and division among different identity groups. Of course, it is acceptable if he promotes the cause of the Madhesi and Tharu community, but this should be done in such a manner that it does not disrupt the social harmony. If he has no intent to play responsible politics, it would be better for him to quit as the DPM and Home Minister. Ironically, as the Home Minister, he is expected to maintain peace, security and social harmony in the country. No doubt, this is a daunting task, but what he has done is only to foment more tension in the present highly charged political and social environment.

One should realize that federalism is not all

about states based on identity. It involves more than that and it is about pursuing a path whereby power such as political and economic is federated along lines that are scientific and just. It should be acknowledged that the path to federalism is not all that rosy although the major political parties are committed to it in one form or the other. The country should be federated in such a manner that needs to be studied extensively. The Nepali people should be more involved in the making decisions that

concern them. In fact, it was federalism that has

remained one of the most contentious issues while drafting the constitution, with the political parties and leaders failing to agree on it. Meanwhile,

politicians of the stature of DPM Gachhadar are

expected to be more responsible and exhibit their maturity rather than make statements to instigate one community against the other, thereby,

disturbing the communal harmony.

Well done!

Finally, the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has started cracking the whip against the drunk bus drives on long routes. In fact, this should have been resorted to long time back. The breathalysers will come in handy in detecting the drunk drivers. This was a necessity as most of the road accidents in the recent past have been credited to the negligence of the drivers, including drunk driving. The drivers cannot be allowed to drive on long routes when they are drunk because at risk will be the lives of scores of people in the bus.

In this context, the campaign against drunk driving in the Kathmandu valley has given impressive outcomes. Now, night-time road mishaps have been reduced remarkably. This is the result of the traffic police who have taken up the vigil to nab the drunk drivers. It obviously means that the roads are safer at night, with no fear of drunk drivers going on their spree. The traffic police ought to move with the campaign against drunk bus drivers of long routes especially during this festival season when there is much movement of people along the highways.