NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

In Whose Interest?

As the country faces a crisis on all fronts, the ruling Nepali Congress is busy in internal squabbles

By KESHAB POUDEL

Schools across the country were forced to close down for a week as a hotel strike pushed the economy to the brink of disaster. But the leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress seemed to be focused on exploiting the crisis for their personal advantage.

A two-month lull in the party ended this week when senior Congress leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai issued a 'fatwa' against his colleague and rival, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, to vacate either the prime ministership or the party presidency.

Congress leaders Bhattarai (left) and Koirala : Never-ending squabble

After returning from a 10-day visit to India, the former prime minister also challenged Koirala by saying there was no need to amend the constitution. Koirala had agreed to set up a joint group with the main opposition CPN-UML to study proposals on a constitutional amendment.

The future of more than five million schoolchildren has been affected by the school closure, under the threat of the All Nepal Students Union-Revolutionary, which is allied to the Nepal Communist Party-Maoist. But Congress leaders are locking their horns to weaken rivals within the party.

As Koirala is said to hold a majority in the parliamentary party, the Bhattarai-Deuba group prefers to issue threats of launching a signature campaign against the prime minister rather than bring an actual vote of no-confidence.

Congress leaders have almost made a habit of ignoring the main problems of the country. During the seven years they have been in power, they have spent greater time accusing and undermining each other than on trying to tackle the country's problems.

Internal politics has always gripped the party, be it the Bhattarai-Koirala, Ganeshman-Koirala or Deuba-Koirala feud. The net loser has been the country.

The law and order situation has gone from bad to worse and educational institutions have been reeling under factional politics.

With the Congress general convention scheduled for January 19-22, the warring factions are working hard to press Prime Minister Koirala to accept their demands. Bhattarai's threat to Koirala is being seen as a calculated design with the convention in mind.

Although the common people have lost interest in the Congress infighting, they are can't avoid being affected by it.

"Congress leaders seem to be helpless to take any initiative to end the current chaos and anarchy. They are spending most of their energy doing nothing," says a political analyst.

After the first round of internal elections, former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is desperately making efforts to press Koirala to accept his compromise formula.

Koirala opponents say their patience is running thin. "We have given a couple of days to Girijababu to decide what he wants. Otherwise we will register no-trust motion in the parliamentary party," said MP Rajendra Kharel, who is known as a close associate of Bhattarai.

Bhattarai met Koirala at his residence in Bhainsepati and briefed the prime minister about his India visit.

Their discussions instantly shifted to internal party politics, according to sources.

In the midst of the deepening crisis in the country, the continuing infighting in the Congress bodes nothing but greater instability.