NATIONAL 5 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Trial Of Strength

The no-trust motion against Prime Minister Koirala is likely to backfire on the dissident group

By BHAGIRATH YOGI

As Kathmandu was struggling to regain normalcy after two days of violent street protests, the stage was being set for a major showdown in the ruling Nepali Congress.

On Thursday, in the midst of a 'Valley Bandh' organized by a group of five leftist parties, former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, flanked by fellow dissidents, walked all the way from his contact office at New Baneswore to the party's parliamentary office in Singha Durbar to register a no-trust motion against Prime Minister and party chief Girija Prasad Koirala.

Koirala (left) and Deuba: Showdown continues

Armed with the signatures of 56 out of 113 NC legislators, Deuba said there was a need to change the leadership of the government because it was leading the country toward chaos. "The motion has become necessary to pre-empt the `unconstitutional exit' of the Nepali Congress government," said Deuba. He did not say where such threats were coming from.

Analysts believe Deuba was alluding to the possibility of the sacking of the popularly elected government by the King as demanded by some political elements on the extreme left and extreme right. Deuba's justification for the motion raised another key question. If the situation had become so grave, should a responsible member of the ruling party like Deuba have raised the flag of revolt?

"This was the most inopportune time (to register the no-trust motion)," said Mahesh Acharya, a close Koirala aide and Minister for Finance and Defence.

Deuba supporters, however, claimed they had no alternative to forcing Koirala out of the leadership "as he has failed on all fronts."

Deuba declared: "As Prime Minister, Koirala has failed to fulfil his promises."

Congress insiders don't believe that was the real motive. They say Deuba was making a desperate bid to hold the reins of the Nepali Congress leadership, ahead of party's tenth general convention scheduled to take place in Pokhara early next month. As Koirala supporters were able to bag the majority of the seats in the local-level elections of the party held last month, Deuba had no other way to depose Koirala.

In the one-to-one battle between septuagenarian Koirala and his disciple Deuba, things seemed to be moving Koirala's way. Koirala supporters managed to convince nearly half a dozen signatories to the no-trust motion to withdraw from the campaign against the prime minister. "Our signatures collected for a different purpose have been mischievously used in the motion," said Janak Raj Giri, a Congress lawmaker from far-western Nepal. "I will continue to support Koirala as the leader of the party and the government."

In the ensuing all-out war, each side accused the other of using 'dirty tricks' to win over legislators. "The government is employing all foul means to influence the legislators," charged N. P. Saud, a Congress MP and supporter of Deuba.

As the exchange of allegations continued, analysts said the battle within the ruling party has eroded its authority to govern. "The prevailing situation in the country has proved that the NC doesn't have capability to govern the country," said Madhav K. Nepal, UML general secretary and leader of the main opposition.

"It seems both sides are engaged in a battle best portrayed by the maxim: Head I win tail you lose," said Prof. Panna Kaji Amatya, a political scientist at Tribhuvan University. "The present crisis has come into being because of the lack of communication within the same party. Immediate benefit is the overriding factor of all the persons concerned."

With the unflinching support of party general secretary Sushil Koirala and his team, Prime Minister Koirala looked confident of winning this latest challenge to his leadership. He was devoting more time to dealing with the 'Nepal Bandh' called by nine left parties and the deterioration in the relations between Nepal and India rather than on wooing legislators of his party.

By preparing to face the motion on Thursday (January 4), on the eve of the visit of Mongolia's president, Koirala exhibited that confidence. But he is bound to play a hard game to save his crown, given the support Deuba enjoys of one-time Koirala loyalists Khum Bahadur Khadka and Bijay Gachhadar.

Whatever the result, the timing of the motion and his failure to address the burning problems in the country are likely to backfire on Deuba, analysts say. Says Prof. Amatya, "It would have been better if both groups within the Congress sacrificed some of their interests for the larger good of the country at a time of a crisis like this."

As things stood ahead of the vote, neither group was in a mood to take that suggestion.