PM's Silence Gives Rise To Speculations

The Prime Minister Balendra Shah's silence and his absence from the parliamentary sessions have been making headlines in the media for the last few weeks. The opposition MPs have repeatedly demanded his presence there and they have been accusing him of not following parliamentary norms. Every day, a substantial amount of time is being wasted fussing over why Balendra is not there to answer their questions, overlooking the fact that the Prime Minister has already deputed Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle to present proposals and answer questions on his behalf.

The general public has mixed views on the same. They are applying different theories to interpret Balendra's deliberate silence and absence in the parliament. His supporters are trying to defend him by saying that he has not gone against the constitution as Balendra knows the law better. They even argue that people have become fed up with the incessant speeches of previous prime ministers, so they want actions, not words and Balendra is fulfilling their wish. Some are insisting that the PM will speak up only after completing the government's 100 days, as he will be ready by then to show results of the 100-point governance reform agenda that the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) promised the public during the general election in March this year. 

Theorising silence 

Even if they are supporters of the present government, opponents are theorising his silence as a result of his vanity. According to them, he may think, 'I'm the only authority, so I'm not accountable for anybody, including members of parliament, ministers or journalists.' All in all, Balendra's die-hard fans strongly agree with whatever he does. Therefore, they have not taken his silence negatively. They argue that actions speak louder than words, as Balen is striving to bring positive changes in different sectors of the country, why does he need to talk? He is a result-oriented person, they say. 

Balendra Shah's opponents are the ones who are very critical. They spread all sorts of negative comments about him. More than this, they engage in name-calling all the time. Understandably, the opponents have been backlashing against Balendra but how come Dr. Amresh Kumar Singh, being an MP from RSP, points his finger towards him? He is the same person who was boasting during the time of the general election that if Balendra Shah did not become the Prime Minister, he would immolate himself.

On the other hand, the PM has not spoken a single word since he suddenly left the parliamentary session midway through President Ramchandra Paudel's address on the government's annual policy and programme. Although he has posted several Facebook statuses regarding his silence and absence in the parliament, we have not heard any formal speech from his side. Instead, Rabi Lamichhane, the chairperson of RSP, has assured the public that Prime Minister will definitely speak and answer all the questions asked of him when the right time comes. We are patiently waiting for that time. 

Everyone is expressing their opinion on Balendra's prolonged silence and I am not an exception. I have my own calculations. In my opinion, Balendra may not want to be a subject of unnecessary controversy due to his speech. Whatever he says, some people always twist his meaning to their favour. There are many such examples from the past. Let me consider one that I found the most ridiculous. During the election campaign, when he visited the far-western region, he was captivated by its beauty and said that leaders do not need to make Nepal Switzerland because we have places like Badimalika, which is 'the father of Switzerland.' For this, a gentleman passed his comment, 'How can Balendra Shah say that Badimalika is the father of Switzerland?' It is not the father but the 'mother!' What to say, such people?

Reasons 

I do not believe Balendra Shah has not public speaking skills. Of course, he has a capacity to connect to people whenever he feels. We have heard him giving interviews to different media, both national and international. In these interviews, he sounds quite convincing. So, he must have some reasons to be quiet this time. His main focus seems to be to fix the broken and corrupted system first; we can see his team is working tirelessly in this direction.

There are so many important topics to discuss and find appropriate solutions collectively. The members of parliament are those select people who are trusted by the citizens to be their voice. Obviously, the public does not like them blaming the ruling party at every step. They are sent there to find solutions, not to throw problems. The government may make mistakes knowingly or unknowingly and it is the duty of opposition parties to help it sort them out. It is very clear to them that the PM will not come to the parliament sessions to answer their questions anytime soon, so why make the speaker's job difficult by doing nonsense activities? The world is watching us, so it is good to follow the basic parliamentary rules by all the members of parliament.  

 (The author is the director of Vidya Shilpa Academy, Damak, Jhapa.)