Second generation leaders are capable of heading govt

MP Gopal Man Shrestha represents Constituency No: 2 of Syangja district. He is currently the Chief Whip of the Nepali Congress in the House of Representatives. Considered more close to outgoing Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, still MP Shrestha is taken as a “middle of the road” NC man, who is more concerned about the party’s performance than the individual politics within it. Already in politics for almost four decades, Shrestha had spent about five years in jail and in exile, like many other NC leaders. Shrestha spoke of various contemporary issues dogging his party, specially after it regained majority after the Third General Election of 1999. He expressed the view that Sher Bahadur Deuba has firmly established himself as a formidable second generation leader, who may succeed the likes of Bhattarai and Koirala. He spoke to The Independent at his house in Kupondole Tuesday. Excerpts below:

Q. What is your observation about the present change in the Nepali Congress (NC) government?

A. The present change is an expected one. We all knew that such a change was going to happen. We were also hoping that Krishna Prasad Bhattarai himself would declare about this change a few months earlier because of his poor health condition.

During the general election, we went to the people by projecting Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as the Prime Minister if the NC was given a majority. We hoped that he would be able to lead the government for its term. It was because of his poor health that some friends went against him. The team spirit within the government was also not up to the mark. That may be another reason why even some of the ministers of his own cabinet wanted him to step down. In order to solve this problem in an  amicable manner, everybody in the party were involved to make a safe-landing. However, that took more than a month. At last, we were able to do that.

I call the present solution as a safe-landing because just before his resignation, the Prime Minister in his address to the Parliament made some heartfelt and touching remarks.

In our party,  Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Girija Prasad Koirala are the two seniormost leaders. Now, our party has chosen Girija Prasad Koirala as the party’s new leader in the parliament and he has already been appointed as the country’s Prime Minister. This is also the first time that the parliamentary party leader  has been chosen through a democratic process.  Before this, the NC had been choosing its parliamentary party leader through consensus and in an unanimous way. Despite the election, the party’s second generation leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, who contended with Girijababu for this election,  had also expressed that he would cooperate fully with the government. This is a positive practice within the party.

Q. You said the party has made a safe landing, but what will be the impact of the manner in which the NC MPs demanded  Bhattrai’s resignation ?

A. The present change has initiated a new tradition in the party. In the past, we used to accept and abide by whatever decision the two top  leaders took. As soon as the two stalwarts reached an agreement all other party leaders and workers would come together and unite themselves. For example, there was the Godavari Agreement, which solved the impending crisis at that time. In the present crisis also, the secret agreement between them in a way had solved the problem. But I think the party needs to become more transparent (in its decision making process).

There are so many  second generation leaders in the party, who have contributed to the party for 30 years and more. Although many of us have crossed the age of 50/55, we are considered younger generation in comparison to the top two leaders. I hope that the present crisis will help to institutionalize the party.  This has also shown that intra-party  problems can be solved by discussions.

Q. It has now been proved that the agreement reached  between Koirala and Bhattarai can not solve the problems in a long term. What do you think?

A. It is politics and in politics any agreement has its own duration. No body can say about the duration of the agreements reached between the political leaders. But there is one thing that we know. We all belong to the same party and the party can move ahead only if there is consensus among the party leaders. Even a home needs consensus among its member   to run properly. The NC is the biggest party in the country and certainly it needs consensus among leaders to move forward. In the coming days, the Nepali Congress will remain united for the purpose of the country’s development and for the consolidation of democracy.

Q. Before, there was the  three-leaders concept in the NC before the demise Ganesh Man Singh. Now that Bhattarai has resigned, do you think that the NC will move ahead towards a single leadership of Girija Koirala?

A. No. There is no single leadership in the party. Since Girija Koirala is both the party president and the Prime Minister of the country, many people may have taken it that way, but that is not true. After being appointed as the country’s Prime Minister, Girija Babu himself has said in front of all the party workers and public that he would respect Krishna Prasad Bhattarai more than he did in the past. He has also expressed the necessity of  Bhattarai’s guidance and cooperation.

Beside that, since Kishunji is the only living founder member of the party, I don’t think the party can reach any major decision without his opinion and advise. It is true that Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has resigned from his position as the Prime Minister, but he hasn’t lost his influence in the party. That’s why the concept of single leadership is not true. After his appointment to the post of Prime Minister Girija Babu is also trying to consult Bhattarai to decide about the selection of the members for the council of ministers.

Q. When we look back at the past 10 months when Bhattarai led the government, we see that he was criticized more by the members of his own party rather than the opposition. Was his performance so bad?

A. Kishunji is known as Mr. Clean. The party is his home and its members his family. He has nothing except the party and its workers. He strived hard to move the country towards development. He tried hard to control corruption during the past 10 months. He was also actively involved to maintain peace and security in the country. However, there are things which can not be achieved overnight. His target was to give good governance to the country. But, as I have already said,  his team lacked team spirit. May be because of that the government could not function effectively.  But, in totality, I think the past 10 months was good enough.

It is totally different that during his period the Maoist problem could not be controlled.   There were several reasons such as lack of laws and lack of weapons for the police for this. The government, however, made some serious efforts to solve the problem.   But he was successful in checking smuggling taking place at  the airport. Smuggling was totally discouraged during his period. In order to protect environment, he banned Vikram tempos (three-wheelers) from Kathmandu Valley. There are several achievements of the government. But because of the lack of team spirit, the government was not able to address other problems.  Again, the prime minister was not in his best of health. Anyway, his tenure as the Prime Minister of the country can not be termed as a total failure.

Q. While addressing the Parliament, Bhattarai said that whenever the government tried to control smuggling, it faced a severe threat of being toppled. Do you think that there was inside involvement to cause such an environment?

A. This is politics. Anything can happen in politics. But due to the lack of security and peace, workers of our party were not happy with the government. Our workers moved from villages to headquarters and then to Kathmandu in search of security. This is one of the reasons why the NC MPs were in an attacking mood. Bhattarai had spoken of many things during his speech at the Parliament. Beside control of smuggling, he had also spoken on many other aspects too. I am also sure that smuggling will be controlled during the new government led by Girija Babu. Girija Babu also has more than fifty years of reputation behind him. He also expressed commitment to give good governance, provide peace and security and control corruption. In fact, the NC government will never encourage smuggling in the country.

Q. What challenges do you see for the Girija-led government?

A. The main challenges to this government are to maintain peace and security in the country and contain the Maoist problem. We had already initiated some steps towards solving the issue  by talking with them. Beside that, giving a good governance is also a challenge to the government. Corruption is increasing in our country. This must be controlled. Smuggling should be discouraged.

Q. Whenever there was the NC government in the country, we had seen faction within the NC. What will be the situation this time?

A. It is true that we used to get united during a crisis and fragment when in power. But the NC leaders do not always run for the sake of a chair. We have the longest history among political parties. We have workers with long history of suffering before the advent of democracy in the country. Since, the NC is a democratic party, expressing views has always been encouraged.

Q. Are the second generation leaders within the NC capable of taking over from the two stalwarts?

A. Yes they are. It is clear from the present situation that after Girijababu it is the second generation leaders who will lead the NC government in the country. We don’t need to look for another experienced old man to lead the country because the second generation is matured enough to handle this. There are many second generation leaders who have spent more than 40 years in politics. There is no question of their capability. Sher Bahadur Deuba had shown his capability during the complicated situation of hung parliament by leading the country for 18 months. He has also got 43 votes (38%) in the recent election for the party’s parliamentary leader.  This proves he has enough support.