Off The Record (Spotlight Weekly)

Koirala : Pre-empted

Mysterious Leak

It is bizarre to know that some Hindu organizations approached painters with the order for more than 300 banners defending the Hindu religion and cause of Hindutva just a couple of days before Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala announced proposal in the five party meeting to press for the demand to declare Nepal as a secular state. The painters were shocked as soon as they read Koirala's announcement. One of the painters asked this scribe, "Who leaked Koirala's possible announcement to Hindu organizations?" Was it Koirala himself or one of his followers?

Fact Or Falsehood?

Does anybody know that Nepalese politicians rely on false statements? Yes, almost everyone is aware that in the last twelve years Nepalese politicians - whether a new breed or old breed - have exhibited one single common character - that of changing their tones to suit the need of the hour. Doublespeak and exaggerations were in vogue. While this particular character is understandable among communist leaders since their ideological Gurus Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Kim Il Sung have taught them that the politics is a game of fibs, the shams shown by leaders like former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala — who leads the country's oldest democratic party ñ is puzzling. If one turns to the pages of daily newspapers, one will feel difficulty to identify the true position of Koirala. Political leaders seem happy playing the game of lying.

Oli : Instant patch-up

Dramatic Act

CPN-UML leaders have shown that they know how to make a film that becomes a hit at the box office. In a typical Bollywood formula, two factions of the party fought against each other for a week trading charges and using abusive words. The fight, however, did not last for even one week and they came out hugging each other like victorious hero hugging defeated villains in the bollywood potboilers. In the last one month since the dissensions erupted in the party, general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and his detractor K.P. Oli finally agreed to bury their hatchets and call it a day. They warmly shook their hands in the public as if nothing was wrong. Communist leaders have shown to what extent they can go. However, this is not the first case. The CPN-UML leaders, five years ago, had termed their own former colleague Bamdev Gautam, who had split the party, as the No. One Corrupt. Last year they gave a red carpet welcome to Gautam when he returned back to the party fold. None of the comrades even murmured what happened to Gautam's old sins. Like in all Bollywood movies, the communist leaders are ready to forgive any crime when the so-called villains surrender to the mainstream.

Thapa : Disappointment

Fading Hope

When he was appointed as the Prime Minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa had declared that he would take all necessary steps to unite the country by bringing together all the political parties in the mainstream His declaration seems to be fading away as the country's major political parties have persistently declined to join his government and support him. Even as Thapa is having tough time dealing with outside forces, his own party, too, does not seem much amused. Since the last one month, they have been pressing the RPP leader Thapa to include more ministers from the party. Since there is no accepted criterion that has to be adhered while appointing ministers, many RPP leaders are aspiring for the ministerial positions. Although the party's high command is yet to official state anything regarding this issue, aspirants have started openly revolting against Thapa in a bid to pressure him to appoint them in the cabinet. When Thapa cannot unite his own party, how can he unite five other political parties remains to be seen.