Re: Sambhav Sharma's comments (Letters, #259) on my earlier writeup ('Support by default', #258). There are no problems with political parties per se but with the utter corruptibility of their leaders and their total lack of accountability to people. Merely replacing Panchayat thugs by multiparty thugs does not a democracy make. The parties are decaying from inside and are, therefore, vulnerable to increasing attacks from people who naturally would include ex-generals. Only elections lend legitimacy to politicians as their representatives for specified duration in a democracy. Thanks to parties in power all these years, the country has found itself on the verge of total collapse. Anywhere else, the situation would have called for presidential rule. So, instead of trying to mislead the people by complaining about the king's direct rule, the Young Turks should purge their parties of corrupt elements and make structural reforms to prevent their re-emergence in future. The king has granted them three years to mend their manners. During the time, instead of grovelling at New Delhi's feet, the parties should atone for their sins and work with the king to solve the all-pervading problem of the Maoists who, with their safe haven in India, do not yet seem inclined to negotiate a return to peace.

Bihari K Shrestha,
Kathmandu