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Kathmandu Thursday June 28, 2001 Ashadh 14, 2058.
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Fourteen point proposal
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has come up with a
fourteen-point proposal to resolve his differences with the CPN-UML. The main
opposition party CPN-UML has been demanding nothing less than Koirala’s resignation
since the last parliamentary session in view of his apparent involvement in corruption.
However, Koirala has adamantly stuck to power despite his shady role in the Lauda
Air deal. Now the new agenda which sounds lofty of purpose nevertheless indicates that he
is not going to quit merely because of Lauda. Rather, the implication is that Koirala
intends to remain in power to implement the new agenda. Certainly, this is a clever
attempt to consolidate power within the party and also find a means to resolve the current
impasse between the NC and UML and pave the way for political stability. The main
opposition has reacted by saying that most of the fourteen points were part of its own
agenda. Had Prime Minister Koirala made such proposals earlier with an intention to
improve the economy and law and order, things would have been different today. Now it
appears as though the fourteen-point proposal made in Parliament is merely meant to avert
a situation like that of the last session. In the last session, the opposition party
virtually halted the normal functioning of Parliament to press their demand for
Koirala’s resignation.
The new Koirala agenda includes a ban on bandhs for at least
ten years, non-interference in educational and public institutions, consensus on the
security and development package, a minimum policy level understanding between the ruling
and opposition parties, a bill against corruption, consensus on time-bound programmes and
so on. The Koirala agenda no doubt sounds good enough and offers some food for thought.
But it is too early to predict how it will fare. Everything has to be seen against the
background of Koirala’s past record in office. Koirala has protected his coterie who
are involved in corruption, politicized state-run corporations and interfered in public
and private institutions to hamper their day to day functioning. As a result, some of the
state-run corporations are on the verge of collapse. Seen in this light Koirala seems to
have come up with his new agenda more to protect himself. He says he is prepared to make
any sacrifice for the greater national cause. Not surprisingly the main opposition has not
been taken in. It has pointed out that Koirala had better resign first to prove the
sincerity of his intention. Koirala must admit that he was involved in Lauda and a
corruption-tainted Prime Minister should not have taken so long to resign, if he had moral
values or believed in ethics. Koirala has no option but to hand over power to a new
generation, and the sooner the better. This can provide new opportunities for others who
also want to work for the greater national cause.
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