Fluid Nepal politics; Sins of Chanda Kochchar; US turn to face climate wrath
Opinion Watch
Fluid Nepal politics
Nepal politics gives a sense of excessive interference of China in the domestic politics of a neighbouring nation. Politics is fragile. Politicians are corrupt. Nepal politics is yet to find stability. Opportunism is the hallmark of Nepal politics.
The Hindu and The Indian Express have taken critical views of the dramatic manner in which Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by his nom de guerre Prachanda, became Prime Minister for a third term. The Hindu has called the formation of the post-poll alliance between Prachanda and his arch rival KP Sharma Oli. The Indian Express too took a grim view of the join bid of Prachanda and Oli to oust Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was seen close to India.
The Hindu underlined that Prachanda’s party CPN (M-C) won just over 11 per cent votes and 32 seats. That’s rejection of the popular mandate which was in favour of the pre-poll Deuba-led alliance in Nepal. There are 275 seats in Nepal Parliament. The Chennai-based daily also flagged the inherent contradictions in the post-poll alliance, which consists of outfits which are either right winger or seek restoration of monarchy.
It’s too clear that stakes were too high for China to allow Deuba to retain power, for under his watch Nepal Parliament had ratified $500 million US grant. Also, Chinese money is allegedly flowing unhindered to the Communist politicians. Now, the people in Nepal should watch out if the opportunist Nepali politicians mortgage the financial sovereignty of Kathmandu to Beijing on the lines of Sri Lanka.
Sins of Chanda Kochar
Chanda Kochar was an icon, for she headed India’s fast-rising ICICI Bank. But she fell into the moral ditch by compromising the banking norms and standards. She, her husband Deepak Kochar and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot are now facing the CBI probe.
The Pioneer in its Editorial has said that the arrests of the three accused in the Rs 3000 crore loan scam will send shock waves to the corporate world. Kochar had quit ICICI bank in 2018 after the allegations had surfaced. The Noida-based daily questioned the necessity of arrests, citing the Supreme Court order of July 2020 wherein the apex court had ruled that the police don’t have unbridled power to arrest until there are substantive basis that the accused could either intimidate or influence the course of the investigations.
The daily has argued that the arrest of Kochar is uncalled for and it will instill fear among the banking executives to lend and take decisions. But corporate governance is an issue that cannot be looked away. Yet, it’s worth debating if the CBI is exceeding its mandate, for its investigations cannot continue for ages.
US turn for face climate wrath
The US had sabotaged the Paris Accord when Donald Trump was President. The US has also been the principal villain in passing the buck on climate action. Now, the US have been ravaged by the cold storm which has left several people dead, and even cities such as New York are reeling under extreme conditions.
The New Indian Express in an Editorial has called the US snow storm ‘once in a generation’. The daily stated that hundreds of people were stranded on streets in their vehicles. “The blizzard surges forward along the Eastern Seaboard with heaping snow drifts across states…,” stated the Madurai-based daily. Close to a million people are facing power outage, as over 40-inch snow is being reported to have deposited at several places, added the daily.
About The Author
