POWER
Politics Of Haves And Have Nots
Whether the government is led by elected, selected or nominated, politics in Nepal is always divided by haves and haves not. Those persons in power always project every thing positively whereas those outside power describe the situation negatively. All these inconsistencies, opportunism and non-ideological behaviors are the result of political instability
By KESHAB POUDEL
Till two weeks ago CPN-UML leader K.P. Sharma Oli, who was kicked out from power, justified every action of the government disagreeing with his own general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal's criticism against the performance of the government. As a deputy prime minister with portfolio of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oli was in the group of haves and he saw everything in a positive light.
However, his positive outlook did not last long. A week after his ouster from the cabinet, Oli started to criticize the performance of the government. "The beginning of this government is bad. I don't think this government is serious to deliver the goods," said Oli. This is usual frustration of 'have nots' class.
On the contrary, CPN-UML leader Pradeep Nepal - who was die-hard critique of previous government represented by his own party men, now has developed fondness towards the government following his inclusion in the cabinet.
"This government's primary job is to conduct the polls for Constituent Assembly. The time is too early to criticize the performance of the government," said Minister of Sports and Education Nepal who had demanded the resignation of his predecessor and party colleague Dr. Mangal Siddhi Manandhar for failing to appoint vice chancellors in universities a month ago. Nepal has changed his stand now. "I have already proposed the name and prime minister will decide soon," he said.
Class of Haves and Have Nots
CPN-UML is not alone in exhibiting such behavior. Nepali Congress leaders, too, have similar attitudes and tendencies. Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, who are in the cabinet, are quite satisfied with the performance of the government. However, Congress leaders like Govinda Raj Joshi, Arjun Narsingh K.C, Khum Bahadur Khadka, Mahesh Acharya, Binaya Dhoj Chand, Sujata Koirala and Laxman Ghimire are critical of the government.
For instance, Home minister Sitaula does not have any complain and severe critic like Ram Chandra Poudel is a happy man now.
"There are so many weaknesses in the government, it needs to take bold steps to bring normalcy in the country," said Mahesh Acharya. "The government must improve its performance."
Similar frustration is there in CPN-UML where general secretary Nepal has been expressing his anger. "Prime minister Koirala has to accept his weakness and failure to drive the nation," said Nepal. He always remembers his heydays while he worked as a deputy prime minister. "I challenge any government to prove efficiency as we had made in our nine months government," said Nepal.
This differences of haves and have nots apply to all the party. Even recently joined Maoist ministers have different views than their own comrades on the role of government. Those who are in power seem to be positive and those who do not see any possibility to join the government have already started to criticize the government.
"This government has failed to hold the elections for Constituent Assembly. If it is necessary, we must pull out from the government," said CPN-Maoist leader Mohan Vaidya aka Kiran, who has no possibility of joining the cabinet.
"Of course, it is a failure of the government but we cannot blame prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala alone. All the leaders of Seven Party Alliance are responsible for it," said minister of Information and Communication and spokesman of the cabinet Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
Actually, Nepal has two classes of politicians as the persons in power belong to haves and the persons out of power belong to have nots. Almost all politicians hold positive and optimistic views while in power and negative and opposite views outside power.
" Nepal is undergoing a very serious conflict since long. The conflict is between haves and have nots in the power. The conflict is not between bourgeois and proletariat or between feudal or serf but it is a conflict that is present within the same ideologies and within the same organizations," said a political analyst. "It is not the ideology which counts much in the conflict between political persons but it is the conflict of being on the power and being out of that. Power is the supreme motivating element for a political person especially in a socio-economic background like in Nepal where democratic institutions are in primitive stage of formation and attitudes and habits have not matured since basically a rural environment prevails over the attitudes habits and behaviors."
The stratification of Nepalese politician is not as Karl Marx said in his communist Manifesto - on the basis of freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman - in a word oppressor and oppressed.
Even if they are husband and wife, their outlook may be completely different while in power and out of power. One does not need to be surprised even if there is difference of opinion between husband and wife if they belong to different class. CPN-Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai's wife Hisila Yami is the Minister for Works and Physical Planning and United People Front's leader Lila Mani Pokharel's wife Sashi Shrestha has been recommended by his party for the position of Minister of State. As such, there could be differences on outlook between husband and wife.
Although more than fifty-seven years have already passed since the political change of 1950, the basic characters and behavior of most of the politicians continues to be determined by being in the power and out of it.
While going into the depth of the problem, one has to reach to a conclusion that this is mainly due to the continuing political instability in the country. More the political situation became unstable; persons in politics are forced to be inconsistent to continue in the leadership. They need, all the time, support of political opportunists for their own survival in the competition with other similar contenders. "It is just like uncertain market where the price is unpredictable. Therefore, one has to follow the market rules," said the analyst.
Nepali Congress leader B.P. Koirala, was the only politician, who had demonstrated the capacity to call the spade a spade. Even former minister Kamal Thapa, who is known to harbor opposite views to B.P. Koirala's politics, observed B.P. as the only leader who could speak anti-current and lead the masses.
In his recent interview to Samaya Weekly, Nepali Congress central committee member and member of parliament Binayadhoj Chand said, "It is the lack of statesman in politics. After B.P. Koirala, we did not get any such leader in the country."
Former Panchas
When the attitudes of the politicians - who belong to ideological based parties like Nepali Congress and Communists - fluctuate on the basis of haves and haves not, it is not surprising to see opportunistic behavior in the leaders of Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Rastriya Jansakti Party - two parties dominated by former Panchas.
Having worked under the active leadership of monarchy to remain in power for more than 30 years, former prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and Pashupati Sumsher Rana, who are now under have nots group, removed the monarchy from their party constitution showing eligibility to enter into haves group. In an eight party syndicate with all republicans, Thapa and Rana seemed to realize that retaining monarchy could bar them from joining the haves group.
Taking all the constitutional privileges, the eight party syndicate is now placing themselves in haves group in parliament and have pushed two parties of former Panchas into have nots group.
Alliance For power
The alliances within the party and outside the party are forged not on ideological or philosophical basis. To be as a member of haves group, one can justify any political alliance. No one is regarded pariah to forge alliance and to join the power.
Under the leadership of Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepali Congress has forged all kinds of alliances from extreme leftists to extreme rightists. Koirala forged alliance with Thapa led RPP in 1997. Projected as an anti-communist in the election of 1992, prime minister Koirala forged alliance with CPN-UML in 1998 showing that he was flexible to any point.
"It is the power, even though it is naked and vulgar, power which counts much to the professional politicians to this country and country like ours," said the political analyst. Politicians in Nepal have nothing to loose in the race of power exercise except their ideological chains. As Karl Marx has said proletariat has nothing to lose but change, the politicians in Nepal have nothing to lose but chains.
Leading communist-dominated alliance of eight parties including the extreme leftists, prime minister Koirala shows that no ideology can bar him from continuing in the power with haves group.
Similarly, CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal endorsed all alliance with extreme rightists and Congress. As long as his party was in power, he does not have any complain.
CPN-UML forged alliance with royalist RPP accepting Lokendra Bahadur Chand as a prime minister in 1996. CPN-UML again shared power with Nepali Congress Democratic, RPP and Monarchist alliance in 2004.
Even CPN-Maoist leader Prachanda, who is now defending the alliance with Nepali Congress, revealed that he used to meet late King Birendra's brother late prince Dhirendra to forge an alliance.
One of the disgruntled leaders of CPN-Maoist Rabindra Shrestha in his interview to Kantipur Television revealed that he organized a meeting between Maoist leaders Prachanda and Dr. Baburam with Rameshnath Pandey, who is considered as branded royalist, in 2001.
Considered as a branded royalist, Pandey was cabinet minister in Koirala's coalition which included CPN-UML leaders. He worked as an emissary at that time to deal with Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Similarly, Mohammad Mohasin, who is branded as a royalist, was spokesman of coalition government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. Now Koirala's government has appointed Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara as government spokesman.
Now Koirala and Deuba are in effort to unite the party. They may share their experience to work with extreme leftists and extreme rightists.
As long as one in power, one sees everything okay even in the personalities of Pandey and Mahara. Once out of power, they will be condemned as regressive royalist and extremist communist by Koirala and Deuba.
"It is rarest in the rare in Nepali politics where politicians maintain consistency in their stand whether in the power or without power. Where the political institutions are fragile, the political culture is immature and where persons are judged on the basis of personal loyalty, in such a society it is natural to see individualistic and selfish behavior pattern. That which promotes the self interest of person is the motivating factor to act and associate in groups and lobbies. At the initial stage of democratic development, instead of any idea or interest base lobbies and groups, loyalties in the parties made or unmade on the basis of self interest and ambitions of person are the driving factors," said the analyst.
Basically, there is no left, no right and no centrist democrat. If one is in power, he or she can justify everything including hostile alliance. If one is out of power, he even denounces most natural alliance. The struggle in Nepalese politics is not on the basis of ideology but on the basis of haves and have nots or those in power and out of power.
Why such inconsistencies are seen in the political behavior? "All these inconsistencies, opportunism and non-ideological behaviors are the result of serious political instability which the country is suffering from like a myth of Sisyphus a great of the Greek Tragedy," said the analysis. "Many unseen and unpredictable factors influence the policies of this country and seen players in politics are helplessly and miserably turned into power-mongers only. One has to look forward and hope that Nepal may get congenial atmosphere to run stable and respective democracy," said the analyst.
