Kathmandu: Whether the so-called “people’s movement” is designed to facilitate the government, the Maoists or the talks itself remains to be seen. The fact that it is designed to effect the talks is certain. Which way it will effect the parley is increasingly becoming a matter of partisan standpoint. It is clear however, that the “Andolan” is a set back to the current environment of peace. The crowd is in the streets. The mob is at work and so is the Police.

Indeed, party leaders make out that they are finding it very difficult to reign in their cadre in their belated decision not to pour their wrath at the monarchy. This pretension, however, is difficult to comprehend since the party leaders themselves say that the movement is against the King and the tirade that they pour at the King amounts to the same thing.

One thing is certain. The “people’s movement” is as yet bereft of the “people”. It is thus a movement of party cadres where the public is an irritated bystander. It is this that irritates the party leaders. It is this that keeps much of the cadre cultivated over the years through spoils from the system away from participating in the said “Andolan”.

The race thus is on on the parties’ behalf to have the agitation affect the public in a manner that may win them over. For this life will have to be so disturbed as to expose the inefficiency of government and the popular support of the agitators. This would mean violence and more violence. It is this that will disturb the hard won peace and effect the government.

Already the agitating parties are wooing the Maoists on these grounds. They claim that it is the agitation that helped the talks to take place and allowed the Maoists to gain such major concessions as that to do with the army movement being restricted to the peripheries of their barracks. Already the agitators are alleging that the government cost the peace process heavily by this concession allowing the Maoists free play in their areas of political dominance.

Unfortunately, it is the army and the defense ministry that is the sole respondent to these latest developments. The Chand ministry finds itself isolated in government. What is awaited is the presence on the streets of voluble and visible public support to the current developments. But this has to do with the mobilization. And this is what is lacking in the effort to retain public expectations against the agitators.