Gaijatra in the Nepali context

Nepali people had to wait for the Gaijatra Festival to watch for anomalies in the country. The festival was observed for a week by artists and comedians presenting social, political and other perversions. There used to be a competition in attracting audiences from different groups of artists. The week used to be an attractive source of income for the local artists. Today, the value of the Gaijatra Festival has already ended, although the religious and cultural value of the Festival still exists. Partisan politics has ended the politics based on values, ethics and principle and introduced the politics of loot. The political leaders believe their politics is a profession, not a service dedicated to the nation and the people. They are self-centred, corrupt and always encouraging nepotism, favouritism, sycophancy, and mal-governance, among others. The only goal of every political leader is to get power and exploit the power as much as possible. It is the only vision of every political leader. Look at the present electoral alliance among the five parties, maybe, two more partners can be added making it a seven-party alliance. The leaders have no agenda on how to build this nation or make the Nepalis prosperous, but the only agenda is to run the government for the next five years turn by turn and loot the nation. The other agenda of the present five parties is to isolate the UML, mainly K.P. Sharma Oli just to keep aloof from power. The Nepali Congress led by Sher Bahadur Deuba is unable to go to the elections alone. Deuba is the same leader who was the prime minister when the Maoists launched the “people’s war” and Deuba had fixed the price on different Maoist leaders. Today, Deuba and company have become the closest ally of the Maoist Center. Deuba and his colleagues in the party are shouldering Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda for the latter’s political existence. Although NC is a democratic party and the Maoist Center carries a radical Left attitude by principle, they are together for the sake of power. There is no serious practical difference between the five parties but they have very deep-rooted relations on the issue of sharing power. NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba was more concerned about the victory of Prachanda’s daughter to the mayor’s post in Chitwan than any of the NC candidates in other local bodies. Now, Prachanda is more concerned about the victory of Deuba’s wife Dr Arju to the post of member of parliament rather than the victory of any other Maoist Center candidates. Another revolutionary leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai is knocking doors of the present powerful political parties with an appeal for ensuring his victory as a member of parliament. Those leaders have not only devalued the significance of Gaijatra but also created a threat to the nation’s existence. Due to the daylight loot and corruption, the nation’s economy has been ruined and it is taking a negative course. In the long run, if the same system is continued and the same people will remain in power, the nation is sure to face an accident.