If
10 days grace period starting from 31st July was a considered factor
then the appropriate day of decision to accept or decline the resignation of
JYT, would be 9th or 10th of August, 2013. However, I
think it is the prerogative of the Speaker to choose the date of resignation
acceptance since JYT had chosen the day to file resignation application. Let astrologers
debate on the particular choice of ‘Sunday’ and ‘Wednesday’.
It was amusing if you choose to look at it positively but
otherwise its intriguing on the darker side when the public is told that JYT
cannot be ice-boxed-blue because a “lacuna exist in the National Assembly Act”.
The National Assembly Act is fine. Just because the Act did not provide the
legal tool to penalize JYT for resigning, it does not necessarily mean the Act
needs to be amended.
The
former Prime Minister made a difficult, brave and necessary decision. After
being publicly accused of subverting both the corner stone foreign policy of
Bhutan and the prerogatives of the Throne, anything that MP JYT may say in the
House of National Assembly or Parliament could be construed as anti-India,
pro-China, anti-national or another spike against the Throne. Maybe as some opinioned,
JYT chooses to be MP if he is the 1st MP or Prime Minister. But
judging by what is visible to naked eyes and reasonable mind, he had no option
only an alternative either resign or assume a mummified presence which may
again fuel further controversies.
As stated
in my earlier blogs, PDP President, candidates and party workers executed a
superior campaign and so interventions from within or without may have varied
the numbers but PDP would still have secured the majority. Therefore, the
victor must be acknowledged. And according to media report, the President of
DPT tried to do just that on the election night but his several calls to the
victor went unacknowledged. Maybe the perceived contempt and disdain of a
conqueror instead of the usual grace of a democratic victor had flared the post
election turmoil of varied emotions. All that needs to be now buried with the
past so that the nation can have a rebirth of unity. We now have the 2nd
phase of the Royal Government of Democratic Bhutan in place so the political
environment should improve as months pass by.
In
between the entire period of political happenings, the former Prime Minister
struck two distinct cords of forward democracy path. He seems to have coaxed
DPT Party to form a united Opposition Team under a unanimously elected new
leadership to enable the democratic process march ahead unhindered. And then he
tendered his own resignation as MP heeding the earlier call of the supporters
to preserve their dignity. Considering the prevailing circumstances and against
the backdrop of his party’s push and pull, he displayed a stroke of political ingenuity.
I came
across a very soul searched Dungsampa letter to JYT. The way it was narrated, it
must have moistened the hearts of many well wishers. Before that I had glimpsed
the BBS coverage of Mongar post election meet. To describe the scene of much tears
and sorrow of the aged and the young as that of a nation in agony would be incorrect
because it was only a DPT consolation meet. But it was a scene of Bhutanese of
many walks of life in tears. All these illustrative outpouring of affection affirm
that JYT if not now the number one MP still remains the number one private
citizen to many Bhutanese. Maybe it is now the appropriate time to wish him the
best hereafter.
HE JYT was assuming larger than life figure both internally as well as internationally. He was growing too fast in global stature for India's liking. Internally he was seen as next to the kings. With signs of a giant emerging in a small country many felt the collapse of the giant will provide the space for the lesser beings to grow. What HE JYT and DPT has achieved in last 5 years is too meteoric to acknowledge. I salute JYT from the bottom of my heart. He has deftly used GNH and the UNSC bid to strengthen our sovereignty in the global arena. He outmaneuvered India diplomatically and India is taking direct action to see him off. I thank JYT for making Bhutan a stronger nation. In years to come History will record your efforts and achievements. May you and family find peace.
ReplyDeleteWhat about biting the hand that has fed you for so many years? If Bhutan is emerging to be a defiant and revolting nation, do we now have all the necessary means to legitimize such arrogant behavior? Where do we stand now? Aren't we still begging from India to carry out our planned activities? Why did the same person who has initiated so many hydro power projects with India's help appear like a dissenting figure at the same time?
DeleteEveryone is being hoodwinked here it seems, the ouster of our former PM was so well orchestrated to somehow look as though India had everything to do with DPTs loss. While, there is no doubt that India was party to this, many people in Bhutan also wanted to see the back of JYT too for reasons best known to them.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that most people have seen through this facade and know who the real people behind JYTs ouster are. We have to thank these very people for dividing the country into two distinct groups, DPT and PDP, both whom hate each other and such a scenario can't be good for anyone. In the years to come, I hope the gulf between the two parties do not get even wider, as a small country.
I think timing of the interference was so good to find an easy scapegoat. No matter what, losers have many stories to narrate their losses.
DeleteAs Mahatma Gandhi famously put it: “The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”
ReplyDeleteThis is the problem if politicians try to achieve everything within 5 yrs time. In 2008 it was Sangay Ngedup who couldn't face defeat and in 2013 it is JYT. Both were considered phenomenal leaders. What a shame?
ReplyDeletePlease don't even try to compare the two, in 2008 the elections were free and fair, while in 2013, there was no way DPT could have won. And everyone knows why JYT resigned, don't even pretend that you don't.
DeleteBhutanese politics lost two genuinely good people-ex-Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup and ex-Lyonchen JYT-both contributed so much for this tiny nation of ours. If both had stayed on so much could have been done. This is not say the current PM can not achieve or succeed but the two giants still being around could have been better. The nation owes both of them a great deal. Let us wish them well in their future. They deserve our wishes.
ReplyDeleteI would say, both have contributed so much, but at the same time benefited more than their share of contribution. None of the men were altruists. Neither of them worked freely for Bhutan. Neither of them denied all the incentives that came with their responsibilities. Both of them were hand-picked to serve, not placed through a popular public choice. In a way, both were lucky to have granted the privilege to lead.
DeleteAbility is nothing without opportunity. Give a commoner a chance to lead, and he might make legends.
If you too can become good like the great leaders in SN and JYT, Bhutan is not the right place for anyone to work. Because you will be crushed into bits and pieces at the end.
ReplyDelete