LETTERS (Spotlight Weekly)

Congress In Crisis

Your cover story on the crisis in the ruling Nepali Congress was superficial as it failed to bring what is really going wrongin the five-decade old party (Spotlight December 24-30 ). There is no doubt that Congress is one of the oldest democratic parties in the country. In fact, it is a party which does not follow democratic practices and spirits as the selection of top leadership is always based on mutual understanding. This was not for the first time that Nepali Congress faced such crisis as there have been periodical crises in Congress. Crisis in Nepali Congress needs to be looked into with many dimensions and it needs detailed analysis on the backdrop of historical perspective. Don't make any childish comment on the political development of the country as if you know every thing. During the last 10 years, we have seen many upheavals but the Congress leaders have been able to retain the party unity.

Ranjan Kayastha
Chabahil

Where Is Democracy

If there's anyone responsible for the present crisis, they are the two old leaders who struggled together to restore democracy. I agree with NC spokesman Narahari Acharya that democratic mechanism should be developed to sort out on going problems in Nepali Congress. As long as the party does not accept democratic process, it has to face such crisis time and again. I hope Congress leaders would bring some kind of constitutional mechanism to end such crisis in future.

Raghav Luetel
Lagankhel

I agree with you that two ageing leaders, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Girija Prasad Koirala are the problems as well as the solution of each and every crisis within the Congress. If we review the last one decade of political infighting, these two leaders have been responsible for each crisis. Fortunately, they also have been able to sort out a solution. How long the party can run in such an ad-hoc basis? It is better for Congress to opt for constitutional ways to tackle such problems.

Jeevan K.C.
Maharajgunj

It was outrageous to describe Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as a person without commitment to democracy. Of course, Bhattarai may have many bad traits but no one can accuse him that he takes bribes. Don't make harsh comments on a leader like Bhattarai's stature.

Kamal Shrestha
New Road

Due to ignorance of our politicians, we have been facing political uncertainty in the country time and again. Although people voted Congress to absolute majority in the parliament, the leaders are yet to fulfill aspirations of the people. In the name of democracy, two septuagenarian leaders have been fighting each other to gain control of the party and the government.

Sambhu Shrestha
Jawalakhel

Y2K An Opportunity

Rather than a challenge, the Year 2000 Killer (Y2K) should be seen as an opportunity, bringing together as it does so many issues affecting the quality of information technology. Allen Tuladhar rightly pointed out the importance of Y2K for the country like Nepal to upgrade its computer technology. Although Nepal is a small and technologically a very poor country, it has proved that the country has a capacity to improve the situation.

Krishna Ghimire
Balaju

Glaring Mistakes

As a regular reader of Spotlight, I have seen many errors in he magazine. Many glaring mistakes appear in the obituary to late Anup Shumsher Rana. Please make sure that such mistakes do not repeat in future.

Hari Adhikari
Chabahil

AIDS Victim

It was sad to read about the plight of country's HIV/AIDS victims (December 10-16). As a medical practitioner, I have seen many incidents of discrimination against the HIV patients. At a time when the country is going to be one of the worst hit countries by AIDS, Nepal must develop a suitable strategy to cope with the situation.

Nitesh Acharya
Jyabaha