Nepal's Prime Minister Resigns
The Move is Expected to Help Ease Political Crises in the Country
World’s youngest republic, Nepal, unfortunately had to suffer through prolonged political wrangling after the historic Constituent Assemble elections. For more than two months after the elections, major political parties failed to agree on formation of new government, and have yet to name the first president of the nation.
Bitter In-Fighting
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s resignation comes after the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), who won majority of the seats in Constituent Assemble elections held on April 10th of this year, announced their decision to quit the government on June 22nd, 2008. The former rebels were unhappy about the Prime Minister’s party Nepali Congress’ insistence that despite their victory the Maoists should not be allowed to form a new government.
On the other side, the Nepali Congress has accused the Maoists of exacerbating the turmoil. Another major party, Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist) in past couple of weeks has moved closer to the Maoists and the two parties are looking to form an alliance against the Nepali Congress.
Mounting Problems
While the nation’s leaders are busy trading accusations and planning their next move, Nepal’s citizens are struggling to cope with rising fuel and food costs. Adding to a commoner’s problems is the nationwide strike organized by transporters to protest fuel price hike.
Government has raised the price of fuel by around 27% but is allowing the transporters to raise fare by just 25%. Saying that the government’s decision robs them from making any profit, the operators say that are forced to take it to the streets.
The transportation strike is also adding to the rising cost of food in the country. Prices have gone up dramatically across the nation in recent days and the situation could get worse. Landlocked Nepal largely relies on trucking supplies from neighboring India and a prolonged strike could make food items more scare, and prices could go even higher.
World Food Program said last week that Nepal’s food shortages “could topple new government”.
Strapped Farmers
Nepal’s farmers are facing tough times. They are unable to harvest the crops in time or take them out to the market to see because of high fuel costs. Rising cost of transportation has also hiked the price of seeds and fertilizers, affecting overall food and grain production.
Agricultural sector, largest employer in Nepal, is struggling at a time where the entire nation is faced with acute food shortages. A sign that more troubles lies ahead for the new Republic of Nepal.
