Dear President,
At this current juncture of politics, the row growing between the aspirants to the position of Prime Minister within Congress has left Nepal people dismayed and disgruntled. What has become even more despicable is that the aspirants are not some who are looking to hold office for the first time. We will leave the judgment of their political success to history, because, Mr. President, we are writing this letter to inform you of many other issues pertaining to Nepal’s future than the power politics that seem to have grabbed the country’s attention.
The democratic index of the Economist magazine ranks Nepal 108th in the listing of total 167 countries. According to the index, Nepal is the second least democratic country in the SAARC region with Afghanistan (138th rank) standing as the most undemocratic in the region. Freedom house, an international organization promoting free institutions worldwide, gives us a low rank for political rights and civil liberties.
Mr. President, the values of freedom, democracy, right to speech and expression, the right to start a business - have never solidified even though Congress has been fighting for these values since the 1950s when this party played a historic role to oust the autocratic Rana regime. As citizens it makes us wonder – has Congress completed the vision and mission of B.P Koirala who at that time stood for democratic principles and values? Or is it also just another party that puts values below power - peace and a democratic constitution below the party members’ aspirations for power?
Mr. President, the performance of Congress in the last two decades has left a huge stain on Nepal’s development which will not be erased easily. Nevertheless, we believe, Mr. President, this crisis is perhaps the best opportunity for Congress to remove that stain by promoting the values of a democratic Constitution that the party advocated under the banner of B.P Koirala in the last century.
We wish you good luck,
Nepal Unites
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