GPK'S NATIONAL RECONCILIATION
Conviction or Compulsion?
B.P. Koirala's national reconciliation was based on his conviction but nobody knows whether Prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala's national reconciliation is based on conviction or compulsion
By KESHAB POUDEL
"B.P Koirala's national reconciliation still has relevance to the country. I will uphold it," said prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala inaugurating the new building of American Embassy recently.
At a time when prime minister Koirala is leading communist-dominated alliance to uproot monarchy, his expression to uphold B.P. Koirala's national reconciliation - which includes monarchy as a major factor – sounds hollow.
Whether it was a folly or ingenuity, prime minister Koirala has reduced his democratic party into minority from majority status of previous parliament and has helped communists gain majority foothold in the present nominated parliament.
"B.P. Koirala was not anti-communist but he wanted to have distinct image as a democrat in public. He never agreed to dilute his image and political stand with communists who had different ideological image but Girija Prasad Koirala was not an ideologue but an activist. After the death of B.P. Koirala, G.P. Koirala assumed the leadership of his party and joined hands with communists in the agitation of 1990. Though Girija Prasad Koirala projected his image as anti-communist, he mixed up his political image with them. He enhanced the political status of communists and increased their acceptability as much as possible. At least in one thing, communists in Nepal owe an obligation to Girija Prasad Koirala - for their enhanced political status and acceptability," said a political analyst.
What he speaks does not make any difference. Prime minister Koirala's recent actions show that he does not have conviction on national reconciliation - his statements are result of his compulsions.
After the death of his brother and legendary leader B.P. Koirala, prime minister G.P. Koirala has followed confrontational course with monarchy. Although Koirala looks anti-communists in his political posture, he backs alliance with communists against monarchy in his political course all the time.
"Royal massacre was the turning point in the politics of Nepal to begin the new confrontation. Koirala was an experienced prime minister and King Gyanendra was in power as a new King. Then, the country needed their good understanding and close cooperation to overcome an added crisis. But unseen machination created such a situation that both prime minister and the King headed toward opposite direction. They failed in their duty toward the nation and become instrument for confrontation against each other. This brought about disastrous consequences," said the analyst.
In his last leg of political career, Koirala, who was humiliated by King Gyanendra, sacrificed all his political ideals to take political revenge. Along with forcing him to resign in August, 2001 from prime minister's chair, Koirala was even summoned by Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority on the charges of corruption during the heydays of direct rule by King Gyanendra.
Prime minister Koirala gambled his entire political career to seek revenge for his humiliation but he had to sacrifice everything from his commitment to liberal democracy and patriotism. Groomed under B.P . Koirala, prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala is the only living politician who knows the ethos of national reconciliation. This may be the reason why junior Koirala's subconscious mind often reminds the nation about the significance of National Reconciliation.
B.P. Koirala's national reconciliation is between traditional forces represented by institution of monarchy and modern democratic forces represented by Nepali Congress. However G.P. is now joining hands with communists of all brands to uproot monarchy. As long as prime minister Koirala does not define his version of national reconciliation, it has no meaning. Despite preaching the words, G.P. Koirala's actions have gone against the reconciliation propounded by B.P. Koirala.
Whether he was in power as a prime minister or in prison or in exile, B.P. Koirala firmly held the view that there requires reconciliation between the King and democratic forces to move the country forward.
"..no matter how much suffering I had been subjected to; no matter how seriously my faith had been shattered; no matter how much I had been betrayed due to the events of December 15, 1960, I still believe that the country needs a democratic system where the King and the parliament have cordial relations with each other. It is the King's blunder to consider ruling the country through Royal decree on the strength of military force alone. It is also equally a big mistake to ignore the King in prevailing situation of the country. It is only through reconciliation between the two forces that the country can move ahead; national development carried out and the country's international prestige enhanced…" (see Page 21-22 on 1-1-3 1961, "Jail Journal" by B.P. Koirala). This was written at a time when he was in prison and there was no hope for liberal democracy.
"Even in his last dialogue with King Mahendra, B.P. as a prime minister had emphatically explained that neither the King alone nor his party without the monarchy can tackle any prominent issues the country had to face," said the analyst. “B.P Koirala believed that the institution of monarchy was compatible with democratic development in the country.”
B.P. Koirala suffered eight years of continuous detention without any specific charges against him but it did not make any difference to his conviction. "After his release, B.P. went to India for his medical check-up and got trapped with the circumstantial compulsions and raised armed against the regime. But from the core of heart, B.P. was not comfortable with that action. He, therefore, ultimately picked up a new thread for making unity between the traditional as well as democratic force as his lasting commitments for national reconciliation," said the analyst who was very close to B.P. Koirala.
Even in his last statement recorded at the last leg of his life, B.P. was empathetic on national reconciliation. "My national reconciliation is not a grouping between this party or that party or launching movement against the King," said B.P. Koirala,(See Page 19 of B.P. Koirala's new book Raja, Rastriyata and Rajniti). "Reconciliation is such a system where King needs not be unhappy and people need not be unhappy. As long as it does not happen, there will be no reconciliation," said B.P. Koirala (see page 82).
There are still many persons with the memory of the past when B.P. used to explain to everybody that his concept of national reconciliation was not a unity with communist against the King as proposed then by prominent communist leaders.
However, prime minister Koirala justifies his alliance with communist saying that the context of B.P. Koirala's national reconciliation has changed in the present time. G.P. Koirala sees extremist communist as necessary party to restore liberal democracy in Nepal to overthrow traditional institution of monarchy.
"B.P viewed the King as the necessary party as he had a strong belief that the institution of monarchy was much convenient to work with for a democratic process than totalitarian communists," said the analyst.
B.P.'s younger brother prime minister Koirala, who was capable of winning the heart and mind of even former American president Jimmy Carter, has again reminded the people that he has not renounced the Mantra of B.P's national reconciliation. But, he has his own definition of compulsions for power.
Instead of theorizing it through his own political philosophy which has distanced monarchy so far from liberal democratic party - Koirala has stopped the regular expense of the palace and he has no patience to wait the decision of the first meeting of Constituent Assembly, which has been given right to decide the fate of monarchy in its first meeting.
"Contrary to B.P. Koirala's stand, prime minister Koirala has entered into an irreversible unity with the extremist communist including its Maoist brand against the King. Through his incoherent statements, Koirala has been humiliating a person in throne and denouncing the institution. G.P. Koirala seems to be joining hands with devil and aliens to do away with the time-tested institution of the state- monarchy," said the political analyst.
Reconciliation in the opinion of B.P. Koirala was unity with the King to promote democracy and nationalism. By assessing the performance of G.P. Koirala as a supreme leader of this new change, even his ardent colleagues in the party are expressing their frustrations on both the objectives – democracy and nationalism.
"Neither the people of this country are assured the democratic performance, or the safeguard of national interest under prime minister Koirala's leadership. Perhaps to assure the people that his conviction on national reconciliation was still there in his mind but because seen and unseen compulsions have forced him to lead the political trend, which in all sense contradicts his conviction," said the analyst.
"Prime minister Koirala wants to assure conscientious people somewhere that he still holds the same convictions regarding the national reconciliation. But his compulsions have made him instrumental to negate all that and get it uprooted from the minds of people - what a pity like a Macbethian dilemma. Power has prevailed over conviction," said the analyst.
For politicians, B.P. was a philosopher, guide and statesman but his brother never claimed that. As a politician, prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala fought against power and got it full square.
