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OFF THE RECORD |
Bijukcche In Limelight Narayan Man Bijukcche, the leader of the
Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, an orthodox Leninist and Maoist party, has his own way
of nursing his constituency. Although he has been representing his native Bhaktapur
district in the House of Representatives uninterrupted since the restoration of democracy
in 1990, he has had only a few occasions to show his power to the other parties. In 1995,
when the country had a hung parliament, the seats occupied by his party in the House of
Representatives were key to making and breaking governments. Till the house was formally
dissolved in 1999 and fresh elections called, every party found itself courting Bijukchhe.
The man was in the news and Bhaktapur was at the center of politics. With the dismissal of
the Sher Bahadur Deuba government, Bijukcche is once again in the headlines. He invited
the leaders of all major political parties to his residence for consultations. Love him or
hate him, but you cannot ignore him.
Koirala in Trouble Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad
Koirala is neither deaf nor mute. But the septuagenarian leader's important opinions
always appear through his colleagues. One morning something appears in the papers. The
next morning, you can expect a contradiction. His opinions are often voiced through party
colleagues who have their own interests to advance. Although there is a full-time
spokesman in the party, Koirala does not find the man suitable enough to present his
views. If Koirala wants to say what he wants, he must say it himself.
Split Role Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader
Pashupati Sumsher Rana nowadays has trouble adjusting with the major political parties. As
party leader Lokendra Bahadur Chand is leading the government, the RPP cannot go against
it. If it continues to support his own prime minister, it would have to part ways with the
mainstream parties that don't recognize Chand. It seems the RPP's new leadership is now
playing a half-ruling-and-half-opposition role. That way,† party leaders can attend
conferences convened by opposition parties and invite Chand to their own meetings. Pun's Mission Although Minister of Transport and Housing
Narayan Singh Pun is on a whirlwind nation-wide tour to observe the condition of Maoists
detainees, he is yet to formulate a strategy on releasing them. Pun has shown certain
maturity in not talking too much about the peace process. Despite the insistence of other
major parties, Pun has not used any words to harm the interest of his former guru and
mentor Girija Prasad Koirala and other leaders. That's probably because Pun
intends to announce his strategy as soon as he receives backing from the other political
leaders. Truce Thrills Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha
Acharya have good reason to hail the government-Maoist cease-fire, since it was announced
just a couple of weeks before the release of their new movie. Although Girija Prasad
Koirala and nine left parties are still threatening to launch an agitation against the
palace's October 4, 2002 intervention, Shrestha and Acharya have enough time to screen the
movie. Nepal's season of agitation begins in April. |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
