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Mercurial Leader
House of Representatives Speaker Taranath Ranabhat has maintained a consistent record of behavioral inconsistency. When the Nepali Congress formed the first government in 1991 after the restoration of multiparty democracy, Ranabhat sided with former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and led the Group of 36 dissidents. During the second parliament, when he lost the election, Ranabhat sided with party president Girija Prasad Koirala. In the third House of Representatives, Ranabhat was elected speaker but he came full circle. When Koirala was prime minister, Ranabhat did little to ease the troubles of the premier. After Koiralaís ouster, Ranabhat has sided with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur
Deuba. However, Deuba must be wondering how long it would be safe to count on Ranabhat. Time And Trouble Some people have developed their own culture when it comes to working. Whatever the situation, they do not care about how their actions may affect others. Perhaps this is why even senior officials arenít bothered about time. Tribhuvan International Airport is one place where you can see senior officials and junior employees acting in strange ways. Whether this is coincidental or intentional, officials appear every time several flights land in close succession. From customs officials to immigration personnel and from loaders to sweepers, all the people start working. For the arriving passengers, this creates trouble. Canít these people spread out their work evenly over the day? Emotional Discipline Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is admired for his patience and courage, but there are times when he loses both. When Deuba was coming out of the Nepali Congress Central Committee meeting this week, he was without both patience and courage. Replying queries from journos, Deuba roared that he was as fierce as a lion ó in keeping with his name. Deuba knows all the rules of playing with ice and fire. If a lion loses his temper, what will happen to the jungle? Letís hope Deuba has the wisdom of remaining cool when he needs it the most. Voice Recognition Communist leaders, too, are sources of strange actions. CPN-ML leader Bam Dev Gautam seems to have mastered the art of recognizing voices on the telephone. When some Maoist leader phoned Gautam without introducing himself recently, the former deputy prime minister declared that he could
tell that the caller was not Comrade Prachanda. Helpful as Gautamís skill might be, it didnít help those who wanted to know who the caller was. Mumís The Word Former foreign minister Chakra Prasad Bastola is maintaining a Sphinx-like silence these days. After the Nepali Congress Central Committee meeting this week, Bastola, who used to be friendly to journos, deliberately avoided them. Bastola seems to have understood that silence has its value, but does he believe reporters can easily forget his previous cordiality? n |
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