NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

Inconsistency In Their Stand

Nobody can predict what Nepalese political leaders will say or do next

By KESHAB POUDEL

Just as a bad coin removes a good coin from circulation, the good quality of Nepalese leaders is covered up by their light remarks.

Be it former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, main opposition party leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala or RPP leader Surya Bahadur Thapa, all have a character of inconsistency.

Nepal (left) with Bhattarai : Strange alliance

If the gathering of leaders at the CPN-UML's meeting to commemorate the death anniversary of Madan Bhandary and Jeev Raj Ashrit was an indication, it showed how alliances can be made or broken at the whim of leaders.

One and half years ago CPN-UML leaders, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, accused then prime minister Bhattarai as corrupt and inefficient. But today Bhattarai is their savior of their party. Bhattarai, too, is very much obliged to the CPN-UML leaders now.

How did they suddenly change and become friends? The answer: lust for power and the policy of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Consider the following statements made by Nepal:

"The present Nepali Congress government led by Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has proved to be the most inefficient in the country," --Madhav Kumar Nepal, in Nepal Samacharpatra, January 10, 2000.

"The government has not only failed to check corruption and worsening law and order condition but is fostering them."

-- Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepal Samacharpatra, February 13.

"Bhattaraiji is a great politician who has sacrificed his life to the cause of democracy. He has to help the campaign to unseat Koirala."

-- Madhav Kumar Nepal, CPN-UML general secretary, in Himalaya Times, May 17, 2001.

CPN-UML leader K.P. Oli, too, has used many derogatory remarks against Bhattarai, but now he also sees Bhattarai as his ideal.

What happened in one year to turn Bhattarai from a villain to a hero for UML general secretary Nepal? The political equations have shifted.

Bhattarai, too, was anti-UML when he was leading the country.

"I don't need any certificate from communist leaders about my behaviour. They distort facts to discredit me. All I said in Birgunj was that it was not a serious crime for a low-level employee to take a bribe of Rs 10 or Rs 20 compared to a prime minister taking a bribe of Rs. 1 million," then-prime minister Bhattarai was quoted as sayuing in Gorkhapatra of December 27, 1999.

Bhattarai, who saw communist leaders as conspirators until some years ago, has now changed his stand and hailed them as most efficient leaders. "CPN-UML leaders Madhavji and Oliji also are also hard-working leaders. They have also suffered hardship. By his experience and experiment, Madhavji has established himself as one of the prominent leaders. I became prime minister for the second time with the blessings of Girijababu. I will be prime minister again if I get the blessings of the CPN-UML." Bhattarai was quoted as saying in Chalfal May 20, 2001.

If reads the statements of Bhattarai and Nepal, their U-turn is easily apparent.

Inconsistency of speech results in the deterioration of the character of politicians. "Inconsistency is a hallmark of political leaders," said a political analyst.

What political leaders said yesterday do not seem to matter the next day. What they say today may not last until tomorrow. "The stands of leaders change every couple of hours," the analyst said.

Political leaders even forget who their enemies and friends are. Although all Nepalese political leaders have the quality of inconsistency, Bhattarai and Nepal top the list of doublespeak.

Such inconsistency was not always an underlying feature of Nepal politics. After the revolution of 1950, people talked about B.P. Koirala, whose greatest virtue was consistency in his opinion whether in power or prison. His views regarding democracy and dictatorship remained consistent. Such steadfastness is not found in other leaders.

Sometimes political leaders make communists their No. 1 friend and the next time their primary enemy. If the leaders are confused about their enemies, they create them within the party. This has been the character of Nepalese politics. Bhattarai and Nepal are no exception.