It is good to know that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is thinking hard about solving the problems of victims of fraudulent co-operatives’ operators. Addressing the CPN (Maoist Centre) parliamentary party meeting on Saturday, he accepted that the misuse of the deposits of co-operatives was a grave issue and as such discussions were underway both in and outside the government to form a parliamentary probe committee. Alluding to the demand of the Nepali Congress, the main opposition, that a parliamentary committee be formed to investigate the charges of embezzlement of co-operative funds by Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, Dahal said the issue would be dealt in totality and no single person would be targeted. That sounds fair enough. If a parliamentary probe is constituted to look into the larger issue, Lamichhane can be a subject of the same investigation. Moreover, the goal here is not to target or punish one person but to do justice to the countless victims of fraud. Yet the Congress, to whom Dahal has communicated the same message, remains sceptical. It sees efforts to widen the scope of the parliamentary probe as yet another attempt to save Lamichhane. The Congress will accept no such ‘conspiracy’, the party leaders say.

Their scepticism is justified. Previously, Dahal had dismissed any kind of demand for parliamentary investigation against Lamichhane. The home minister’s Rastriya Swatantra Party, with its 21 seats in the lower house, remains an indispensable part of the ruling coalition. Opposition parties reckon that Dahal won’t do anything that is inimical to Lamichhane’s interest. This is why, as things stand, the Congress has vowed to continue obstructing the House even after the start of the new budget session. We would like to believe that a party with the Congress’ democratic pedigree understands the importance of a functional parliament, particularly during budget-making, and it would as such not hinder any budget-related bills. Yet it is also incumbent on Prime Minister Dahal to try to take the main opposition into confidence. He should offer a clear assurance that any parliamentary probe will be free and fair and there will be no efforts to shield anyone from investigation. This will not be easy after Dahal ‘betrayed’ the Congress and joined hands with the CPN-UML to fashion a new coalition at the centre just two months ago. But he should still try and we believe a middle-way can be found.

The meeting point between the ruling and opposition parties is clear enough: the problem of embezzlement of co-operatives’ funds has become too big to ignore or hide under the rug. If this is not dealt with soon, perhaps hundreds of thousands of victims will have no option but to take to the street asking for justice and compensation. The longer the problem lingers, the greater the chances of their anger boiling over. This will be the case irrespective of whichever political parties are in power. It would thus be wise for the major parties to join hands and collectively tackle the issue now.