At a time when the meeting between the seven parties has been unnecessarily delayed, some Congress leaders have started claiming that the NC should head the new government, as the Maoists don't have a two-third majority. If this is really the belief of a party which got 21 percent of the vote in the PR ballot and 16 percent in the FPTP, we could be forgiven for thinking that they do not have much of a concept of representative democracy.

Senior leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Poudel and Gopal Man Shrestha have cited the Maoists' lack of two-third majority and the pivotal role played by PM Koirala as reasons why Koirala should lead the new government. While both the interim constitution and the people expect the parties to work together, no one expects a party which lost the elections to lead the government. By questioning the legitimacy of the majority party to lead the government, the NC shows that it is not ready to learn from its loss in the elections.

If opposition parties start to challenge the lack of two-third majority even before the first meeting of the constituent assembly, the assembly is sure to fail. And the NC leadership should think about what impact this would have on the NC itself.

The nation did not choose the republican path just to begin a new dynasty, and no party has special privileges to go against the will of the people. If these leaders really believe in what they are saying it is a shame on them and the nation.