OFF THE RECORD (Spotlight Weekly)

Nervous Deuba

Whenever a major event is unfolding, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has a hard time concealing his nervousness. As a result, Deuba tends to forget what he is supposed to do. When House of Representatives Speaker Taranath Ranabhat gave Prime Minister Deuba time to reply to queries raised by ruling party and opposition MPs on the state of emergency, Deuba started reading from his written statement so quickly that few legislators understood what he was trying to say. Or did Deuba believe there was nothing new for the Mps to understand since the statement was prepared after the extensive debate they had held?

Nepal : Keeping cards close

UML's Way

The main opposition party has its own way of taking decisions in parliament. Although the CPN-UML leadership provided enough indication that the party would endorse the state of emergency on certain conditions, they held their cards close to their chest until the last minute. When House of Representatives Speaker Taranath Ranabhat announced the schedule for voting on the emergency order, the UML issued a three-line whip. UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal asked his MPs to follow him. The confused Mps followed their leader in registering their names. After all, when your job is to keep the government on its toes, you have to coat your support with opposition.

Bijukchhe's Follower

Unlike in the last parliament, nobody seems interested in what Nepal Peasants and Workers Party president Narayan Man Bijukchhe has up his sleeves. Bijukchhe, who is portrayed as a genuine preacher of Maoism, used to be criticized during the days of the hung parliament for dilly-dallying his decision. But CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal followed in his footsteps during the vote on ratification of the emergency order. On his way home, Bijukchhe expressed satisfaction at being able to create such a high-profile follower.

Corruption Confusion

Former prime minister and ruling Nepal Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has urged the government to initiate its anti-corruption probe from his own party. Koirala, who was in power for more than seven out of the 12 year since the restoration of democracy, said he would help the government to take action against Congress members. When Koirala made the announcement, his party colleagues, tainted in different scams, were laughing at him. Koirala seemed to forget that there are laws and courts to deal with corruption cases.

Bhattarai : Man with a stand

Bhattarai's Posture

Former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has proved that he is a man who can take a stand. At a time when Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba succumbed to the UML's demands on amending the constitution, the septuagenarian Bhattarai wanted to know which articles stood in the way of democratic governance. Whether Bhattarai likes it or not, the Nepali Congress is going to work toward amending the constitution. But Bhattarai, who headed the interim government that oversaw the drafting and promulgation of this constitution, knows this would open a Pandoraís box.