FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Prem N. Kakkar

WISDOM has finally prevailed in defusing the Nepali Congress problem that had made the news headlines for the past few weeks. In fact, the dissatisfaction of some members of the Nepali Congress MPs came to light as there were achievements made by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s visit to India termed as a "goodwill visit" by the premier himself.

Dramatic

Notwithstanding the fact that it was after a gap of four years that the Nepalese Prime Minister was making an official visit to India, yet there were some NC lawmakers bent on taking advantage of the situation. There was also a so-called signature campaign but which in the end proved to be nothing.

In one of the dramatic decisions and that too within the period of the significant 18th session of the parliament, Khum Bahadur Khadka was relieved of his ministerial post. This particular action was greatly watched by the political analysts as well as the MP of the Congress party.

The Nepali Congress is the largest as well as the most democratic party in the country. Since its establishment, it has worked for the welfare of the people and the country. In this regard the sacrifices of the NC leaders and activists over the years deserve special mention.

Though there may be shortcomings at times but they have been rectified so that the image of the party remains in good light. The history of the Congress party is replete with numerous examples of selfless service. This is reflected in the struggle for the establishment of democracy in 2007 B.S. that marked the beginning of the era of freedom from the Rana rule.

The people had suffered much during the 104 years that the Rana rulers held the country to ransom. It must indeed be said that B.P. Koirala, Suverna Shumsher Ganeshman Singh, Girija Prasad Koirala, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai among others contributed much in bringing democracy for real in the country.

The dark days of Panchayat system obliterated all that had led to optimism among the people. But the events of 2046 B.S. brought into motion a new dawn full of hope. Even in this struggle the Nepali Congress was at the forefront with the support of the United Left Front. Ganeshman Singh was the supreme leader of the combined force to oust what was considered not a people friendly regime that is the Panchayat system.

The mention of the events is just to bring to light that NC leaders had all through been in the task of bringing justice to the people who had all along suffered either under Rana rule or under the authoritarian Panchayat. The leaders and activists suffered much during their long and hard struggle to usher in an era of freedom and happiness.

Such a party with equally dedicated leaders has forged ahead twice in the general elections held within the past decade. This is but enough to show that when it comes to the right choice to govern the country, it is obviously the Nepali Congress party. The faith of the people in the party was also evident in the May 1999 polls.

The great degree of understanding that exists between the two top most leaders is evident when Krishna Prasad Bhattarai became the prime minister. Though the events some time later was not like by some sections of the people yet there it was.

Now that Mr. Koirala is the Prime Minister as well as the president of the Nepali Congress party there is every need for him to see that any problem or misunderstanding that arises within the party has to be tackled on a war footing as intra-party feuds does not augur well for the party as well as the nation.

If the focus is only on the problems within the party, then the ruling party may not be able to give all attention to the various issues of national interest. So it has been the practice to resolve the problems as soon as they rear their head.

This may not be the first time that such a situation has been created. There were many in the past but all were solved amicably through dialogue. In fact, for a prime minister who believes in consensus, the activities within the party has been given a democratic touch. And herein the importance of dialogue receives top priority.

The five-point demand of the former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai set into motion all the flurry of activities. There was a stalemate. It was after a long interval of time that the two leaders sat down for talks and, as expected, the "crisis" has been diffused.

As per the understanding reached between Prime Minister Koirala and Mr. Bhattarai, the tenth convention of the party is to be held towards the end of January next year, while the reshuffling of the cabinet is to be made besides the reorganisation of the central working committee of the party. The fact that "mutual understanding" receives emphasis is a matter of satisfaction to all.

Unity

It is this very facet of the party leaders that has made NC remain united even during hard times unlike some other parties who split even over small differences. There may be those who want to see the Congress party break up but that has not happened as yet. A democratic party that it is, differences of opinion are bound to happen but compromise emerges only when there exists the right environment for talks to take place between the leaders with opposing views. And that the end to the problem has been achieved is a matter that deserves appreciation.

Other Stories