OFF THE RECORD (Spotlight Weekly)

Nepal : Shadow's showdown

Face-saving Formula

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and shadow prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal seem to have decided to fight it out to prove who holds the moral high ground in the current political stalemate. Although the leader of the main opposition party was sitting along with his comrades at Putali Sadak in an effort to block Koirala from entering Singh Durbar, the prime minister’s driver lost little time in finding his way into the secretariat. Infuriated leftist cadres went on a rampage, tearing off sidewalk railings and throwing stones in all directions. This prompted police to fire tear gas canisters, which heightened tensions on the streets. Nepal and his comrades were taken into custody for seven hours. Koirala was able to go to work; the opposition leaders could criticise him for doing so through official high-handedness. A face-saving formula for everybody.

PM Koirala : Down but not out

Old Habits Die Hard

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala still appears strong enough to face any threat from the opposition parties. In his entire political career, Koirala has always been facing stiff opposition. It seems that contending with opponents is almost second nature to him. Following the restoration of democracy, he escaped unhurt when a group of communist workers tried to stone his car. In his first tenure as head of government, communist workers made every effort to tarnish his image. It seems Koirala and his communist opposition are natural born rivals.

Ranabhat : In good humor

Satisfy The Speaker

An irate House of Representatives Speaker Taranath Ranabhat has finally has cooled down after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala invited him as a guest member in the Congress Central Committee meeting. Ranabhat is known as a man of determination and nobody is ready to predict what he might do when he is either angry or elated. He is now making efforts to bring the opposition parties into the national mainstream. Last time around, after he felt he was cheated of his rightful victory in the central committee elections in Pokhara, Ranabhat’s stubbornness was blamed for the disruption of the entire winter session of parliament. Let wisdom prevail on the Nepali Congress to keep Ranabhat in good humor.

Dual-age Bureaucrats

Foreigners might be struck by the discrepancies in the ages of Nepal’s senior bureaucrats. It seems almost all civil servants have at least two births date, one for official purposes and the other for personal use. Because of these differences, some bureaucrats continue in their post well past retirement age. Unfortunately, others have to retire even before completing their terms. If one checks the certificates of the senior bureaucrats or judges, every one has record of making suitable amendments.