NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

Windfall For Koirala

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala gains much-needed strength from the recent turn of events

By KESHAB POUDEL

A politician who fears popularity cannot be popular. This century-old remark of Napoleon may be true about many politicians today, including Prime Minister Koirala.

As Prime Minister Koirala considered resigning last month, hoping to retain his popularity, his political career was almost on the edge. Had he stepped down, he would have ceased to be a key player of Nepalese politics.

Politicians in different parts of the world take calculated risks to maintain their centrality in politics. Prime Minister Koirala's decision to retain his position seems to have been influenced by similar considerations.

PM Kirala : Unruffled

The ongoing political and other developments seem to have helped Prime Minister Koirala strengthen his position.

This turn of events has less to do with Koirala himself or his party. The CPN-UML and five left other parties have contributed to pacifying the unpopularity of the Congress.

Although a faction within the Nepali Congress led by former prime ministers Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Sher Bahadur Deuba and other opposition parties continue to gang up against Prime Minister Koirala, they have been unable to unseat him.

It is becoming apparent that opposition simmering from within and outside the party does not make any difference to the equations of Prime Minister Koirala.

Prime Minister Koirala was said to have considered resigning after he received a letter written by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority seeking clarifications on the Lauda Air deal.

The three-day bandh called by the main opposition party was unable to draw public support for their case. Instead, it created anger against the organizers.

The decision of the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) indicating the involvement of CPN-UML leader and former minister of culture, tourism and civil aviation Bhim Rawal in irregularities while leasing a China South West Airlines aircraft for RNAC came as a big jolt to the CPN-UML and the other left parties that called the three-day general strike.

Then the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) indicted 10 people, including former minister Tarini Dutta Chataut and two chief executives of Lauda Air on May 25, 2000. In the case of Prime Minister Koirala, the CIAA issued a stricture advising him to be alert not to allow others to abuse authority and commit corruption in future.

On the same afternoon, a full bench of Supreme Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Gopal Shivakoti "Chintan" on the ground that it does not have valid reasons to order the cancellation of the Lauda Air deal.

From a legal point of view, the decisions delivered by the Supreme Court and the CIAA gave relief to Prime Minister Koirala. After the decision of the PAC on the China South West Airlines and the response of the CPN-UML standing committee to the decision, Prime Minister Koirala was suddenly out of the picture.

Even Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel who was said to have switched his loyalty away from Prime Minister Koirala, has now changed his mind. Even Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola was said to have requested Prime Minister Koirala to resign.

The dual posture adopted by Poudel and Bastola may prove costly to their career. As Prime Minister Koirala is said to be unhappy with the performance of the Home Ministry, Poudel may be transferred, with Khum Bahadur Khadka possibly given charge of the home portfolio.

The three-day Nepal bandh turned out to be a blessing for the unpopular Koirala government. The bandh called by the main opposition party neutralized the unpopularity of the Nepali Congress government.

At a time when the government was losing support because of its poor performance and the sustained attacks on Prime Minister Koirala, public attention has shifted from the ruling party to the opposition.

Whether it was a coincidence or otherwise, this turn of political events is gradually strengthening Koirala's position.