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Constitutional and Political Predicament in Nepal
Ongoing political crisis in Nepal stems from the deep divisions in the polity across ideological orientations and along social, regional and personality fault lines. Decisions taken by the president, seemingly favouring the prime minister, entail violation of the constitutional scheme and parliamentary practices. India, driven by its immediate strategic interests to contain growing Chinese influence, seems to be tilting in favour of the prevailing authoritarian and unconstitutional regime.
With considerable fanfare and enthusiasm, Nepal adopted its new constitution in September 2015. The new constitution was hailed as a charter of political stability, democratic and federal governance, and progress and well-being of its people. The record of the past six years underlines that none of these objectives have been achieved, with the future looking as uncertain and worrisome as ever. The governments formed under the new constitution have failed to respond adequately to the fallout of the earthquake of April 2015, nor has the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic been faced effectively. The unresolved issues related to the federal and democratic functioning of the system persist and the constitution has utterly failed to cope with the prevailing crisis of political instability, precipitated since mid-2019.
Political Disharmony
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