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Kathmandu Saturday November 11, 2000 Kartik 26, 2057.
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Retire gracefully
Now that Prime Minister Girija Prasad
Koirala who is also the Nepali Congress President has officially announced that he
will contest for a second term, the ongoing wrangling in the Nepali Congress (NC) is
likely to intensify.
Prior to his announcement, rumours were
rife that Koirala would support either Shailaja Acharya or Shushil Koirala, members of his
trusted inner circle. Koirala had taken pains to communicate something to that effect some
days back. With this announcement, he has gone back on his own words. He was also the one
to advocate the "one person one post" principle. Now, it has become clear
that when it comes to pursuing personal interest, he is capable of throwing his own
pronouncement to the winds. Instead of handing over party leadership to second
generation leaders and thereby ensuring smooth transition, the septuagenarian leader is
more than adamant to stick to the coveted chair of both prime minister as well as party
president.
The current turn in NC politics has raised
many unanswered questions. Deuba and his allies have accused the Koirala camp of
tampering with the list of active membership and expressed doubts over the
prospects of free and fair party elections. Will Deuba be able to stand anywhere in the
party elections with the active membership list remaining "uncorrected" ? It
will certainly be interesting to see what Deuba's faction will do next. What happens if
Koirala wins without the list being revised? Will this split the party? Deuba has warned
of a mishap. Whatever the eventuality, the intra-party conflicts pose a threat to the
country's political stability.
In the struggle for power within the NC,
governance has been badly hampered. A series of issues that merit immediate attention and
action has remained grossly neglected. Despite pledges to provide good governance, check
corruption and guarantee law and order, virtually nothing noteworthy has been
accomplished. Amidst all this, it is indeed regrettable that the ruling party is
still embroiled in internal squabbles.
As things now stand, the NC is in the thick
of infighting which has created heavy clouds of uncertainty. What the NC needs is new and
dynamic leadership be it Deuba, Acharya, Sushil Koirala or someone of similar stature.
Koirala and Bhattarai could contribute by endorsing a joint candidate in order to send the
right signal to the party as well as to the country. This could well reduce the ongoing
schism and ensure better functioning of not only the party but also of the
government.
As a responsible leader of the country's
largest democratic party, Koirala must do his best to restore peace and stability within
his party even if this means sacrificing himself at the altar of party unity. His lust for
power will do no good either to his party nor to the country. Rather, this will only
tarnish the image of the NC further. It has already disappointed the public by not
translating its promises into practice. Koirala should not exacerbate things further by
trying to fulfil his own ambition. He should step down gracefully and make way for a new
dynamic leadership that can give the party and the country the new direction it needs.
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