OFF THE RECORD (Spotlight Weekly)

"I Will Remain A Committed Party Worker"— Krishna Prasad Bhattarai

After participating in the appointment ceremony at the Royal Palace, outgoing Prime Minister KRISHNA PRASAD BHATTARAI, who looked both relieved and gloomy, spoke to the press at the western gate of the Narayanhiti Royal Palace before leaving for his Bhainsepati residence. Excerpts:

What will you do now?
I will remain as a committed party worker and one of the leaders of the party. I still have to play my political role.

What will be your attitude towards the new government?
I will support the government if it follows the path shown by me.

How do you evaluate the performance of your 10 months tenure?
I have started many new programs in the area of controlling corruption. I am proud to say that my government was one of the most clean, honest and efficient government in the history. It is now the responsibility of Girijababu to carry out positive works initiated by me. I will fully support the move of any government that sticks to the path I took.

What happened to your call of handing over the reigns to second generation leader?
The process has already started and it will soon materialize.

How long will it take?
Look, the process has already begun. I hope it will materialize in near future.

Will this government be stable?
(Laughs) Go and ask with Girijababu. I can not say anything. My colleagues pulled down my government unexpectedly, this government, too, could face similar situation.

Three In One

Speaker of the House Representatives Taranath Rana Bhat is known as a man of three-in-one. He proved his multidimensional talent during his recent visit to Australia. During his week long visit Down Under, he acted not only as the Speaker but also as the Water Resource Minister as well as Foreign Minister. Rana Bhat projected himself as Foreign Minister by talking extensively about issues of bilateral relations between the two countries. Likewise, Speaker Rana Bhat, who visited in his capacity as a Speaker of the House, spent a good amount of time looking at hydro power plants run by Snowy Mountain Electric Corporation.

Deuba Plays Against Koirala

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is nowadays busy protecting the ailing Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. Although he does not enjoy the support of more than a couple of MPs from his home region in the far west, Deuba is determined to rescue his mentor Bhattarai out of the present turmoil. Living near the former palace of Jung Bahadur Rana, Deuba is playing shrewd political games. But will his acumen be good enough to unsettle the Congress supremo Girija Prasad Koirala?

It's Rush Time For Wagle

Minister for Local Development Chiranjibi Wagle knows how to keep both the septuagenarian Congress leaders Girija Prasad Koirala and Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in good humor. He does not miss any meeting called by any of the two leaders -- the reason why he never missed a cabinet berth during successive congress governments. Last week when Girija Prasad Koirala was addressing MPs at Congress central office, Wagle sat beside Koirala as if he was Koirala's obedient student. Although it is a tough job to be rushing from Baluwatar to Teku (the place where Congress central office is), Wagle knows this criss-crossing through the Kathmandu traffic might guarantee him another cabinet birth under another leadership.

Oli Shoots His Goli (Bullet)

Deputy leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML K.P. Sharma Oli is leading a crusade against the Congress government. From students activists to the elected members of the local bodies, Oli is keeping all UML supporters on their toes. Having declared a street agitation against the government, Oli is frantically ordering various forms of strikes. Just last week Oli managed to obstruct the traffic flow in Pulchowk for more than two hours by ordering UML local representatives to demonstrate in the street.