Off The Record (Spotlight Weekly)

Sticking Stance

Congress workers are in a very tricky position now on what to speak and what not to speak. As party leader and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala is changing his stand faster than his socks, party workers have to observe him very closely to follow the Koirala line of a particular day. In a bid to woo his supporters back home as well as abroad, Koirala is going overboard. In his recent meeting with some intellectuals, Koirala used mild tone criticizing the King. Nobody understands the rationale behind the sudden fluctuation in his behavior but it makes very difficult for his party workers to decide what type of statement they have to deliver. The shift of Koirala's statement infuriated his party colleagues but they are none the wiser. The young workers are finding it excruciatingly hard to keep up with the pace with which their party leader changes stance.

Weird And Sudden Patch-Up

The CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has declared that he has foiled an attempt of enemy forces to divide the party. His rival Oli also backed the statement. For the layman, however, it is quite strange and unbelievable. Known as party of iron discipline, the last 12 years of democratic exercise seems to have transformed the hard-core communist party into a party of loose alliance. Although they have bitter disputes among them, both comrades seem to have forged certain understanding before signing the compromise formula. Two of Oli's backers, Bidya Bhandari and Bamdev Gautam went to the USA and Oli is going for two weeks on a foreign junket to East Asian countries. Was it the foreign junket or were there other things that prompted the unity between the two bitter rivals?

One Man Brigade

Narayan Man Bijukchhe - leader of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) — has his own way of turning politic to his favor. Bijukchhe, a senior mot communist leader, has only one representative in the dissolved parliament but he is fortunate that his political rivals and colleagues offer him equal status in the meeting. Bijukchhe now shares the podium and rubs shoulders with Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal. Whatever his party's position in the previous parliament, Bijukchhe now is treated shares in the party meetings.

Thapa In Trouble

With the appointment of Surya Bahadur Thapa as prime minister, RPP leaders are bitterly divided. Although RPP president Pashupati Sumsher Rana has not commented on the performance of the government, some of his close aides have already declared Thapa's government ineffective and incapable. As large numbers of RPP leaders are demanding a berth in the cabinet, the internal feud does not appear to end anytime soon. Known as a shrewd politician, Thapa may take revenge if he has to face trouble due to his colleagues. However, for the time being his party colleagues are calling for Jehad against Thapa.

Tamang's Role

Minister of Works and Physical Planning Buddhi Man Tamang is known as a man of action. Whatever portfolio Tamang holds, he wants certain results. In his recent directives to his officials at the ministry, Tamang requested all his departmental chiefs and other senior officials to take necessary steps to spend as much of budget allocated to them as possible. If they cannot spend money in other areas, he will welcome those who spend the money on his Dhading district.