Political Paradox

CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal's meeting with former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai shows that politics is a game of irony

By KESHAB POUDEL

An informal meeting running just over half an-hour between the CPN-UML general secretary Nepal and senior Congress leader and former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai turned the status of the latter from a spent force and anti-national to democratic and nationalist leader. CPN-UML's old stand seems to have changed following the meeting at Bhattarai's Bhainsepati residence.

That was a big departure from early 1990s when UML used to disparage Bhattarai accusing him of selling out Nepalese rivers to India.

Koirala and Thapa (right) : Nothing is Impossible

"We requested Bhattaraiji to oppose present regressive steps and support our agitation launched to restore democracy," said Nepal talking to all broadsheet dailies on Sunday (June 22). "I am very much worried about present political situation," Nepal quoted Bhattarai as saying. Interestingly, Bhattarai is a person who usually writes his statement by himself. According to Nepal, Bhattarai will issue a statement (to this effect) soon.

Nepal also revealed that Bhattarai has requested him to lead the country at this crucial juncture. Nepal seems to be honored after receiving timely blessings from the octogenarian Congressman Bhattarai, who is currently in a self-imposed exile from political life.

This is not the first case of contradiction of these sorts. Nine years ago, former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who is now leading the five party agitation, was accused in the controversial death of communist leader Madan Kumar Bhandari who was killed in a mysterious jeep accident. CPN-UML general secretary Nepal led a violent agitation accusing Koirala in the accident of his leader Bhandari.

Currently, the cadres of CPN-UML are fighting pitched battles shoulder to shoulder with the workers of Koirala's party against the government. Koirala is now the undisputed supreme leader and commander of political agitation. Is it a shift in stand of the CPN-UML against Koirala? No body knows.

Similarly, Nepal is sharing a platform with ten leftist parties led by the CPN-ML leader C.P. Mainali who was expelled a couple of years ago from Nepal's party which accused Mainali of betrayal. Mainali, too, accused Nepal as a leader of bourgeois and termed him as being anti-revolutionary.

Congress leaders, too, followed suit. Bhattarai and Koirala do not see anything wrong to lead communist alliances and back them.†Koirala's cozy relations with communists have raised many eyebrows because the communist parties have record of destabilizing Koirala's government in his all previous four tenures. To top it all, the five parties are also cozying up to the Maoists who had killed scores of their workers during the insurgency.

Nepalese politics is full of such paradoxes.†Whatever the ideological cost they have to bear, every alliance is viable and possible for them. All communist forces regard Congress as their main enemy, but communist leaders do not shy away from taking shelter under Congress leadership at times of crisis.

In a word of Congress leader Koirala, Nepalese communists have just a symbolic value left. "Nepalese communists have only the hammer and sickle left. In reality, they are like all democratic parties that believe in multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy," said Koirala, defending his alliance with communists. (See Spotlight June 13-19).

Koirala is right in his judgment as the past experiences have shown that all political forces, irrespective of their ideologies, join in the process of destabilization of politics. Although no one benefits from the political instability, they enjoy indulging in such activities.

Although political events are ironical, it is the reality of Nepali politics where politicians do not mind to honor an enemy as a leader and leader as an enemy. Two Rastriya Prajatantra Party leaders, prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and former prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, have already led two coalition governments with the support from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML respectively.

Prime minister Thapa, who is now a pariah to five political parties, backed CPN-UML two years ago to stall the proceeding of both the houses of parliament for 57 days. In a political row against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Koirala was backed by prime minister Thapa and Nepal Sadbhavana Party.

It is said that there are no permanent friends or foes in politics. But is it justified to make or break the friendship in a short period withdrawing serious charges of treason, corruption and murder? At a time when unusual political alliances are in the process of making and breaking, one cannot rule out a prolonged political instability.

Prime minister Thapa, who is a present pariah to the five political parties, could end up as their blue-eyed boy next time around. Koirala, who is loved by communists today could be vilified tomorrow. "In this political paradox, it seems that political leaders do not take a final decision to choose the political course. But there may be some other factors which pulls and pushes them," said a political analyst.

Bhattarai-Nepal Meet

The way broadsheet dailies carried the news on the meeting between former prime minister Bhattarai and Nepal is meaningful. In the last nine months, Congress leader Bhattarai has shown virtually no interest in the politics and political development.

What has prompted former prime minister Bhattarai, who remained tight-lipped even at the time of division of his party, to pass message through general secretary of CPN-UML Nepal is in itself a mystery. Although CPN-UML general secretary Nepal has not elaborated the reason of his meeting, there seems to be a clear political agenda behind it. The move is an indication to preempt any kinds of political reconciliation between King and Congress leader Koirala.

Nepal, Bhattarai (right) and Deuba (back) : Politics makes strange bedfellows

By backing Bhattarai and projecting him as a committed democratic leader, CPN-UML general secretary has sent a message to Koirala that he is not inevitable for them. Nepal and his mentors have indicated Koirala that aging Bhattarai, in case of any political betrayal, will replace him.

Pointing Nepal as a consensus leader to lead the next government (as reported by Nepal), Bhattarai has also given a signal that he is much liberal to the communist leader than his colleague and long rival Koirala. "Although Bhatarai has no political utility as much as Koirala, Nepal indirectly indicated Koirala that there is a substitute for his leadership available," said an analyst.

Psychologists agree that such coalition of heterogeneous ideas can be possible only through certain psychological order. "Such alliance can be saved only through force, fear, lust of money and compulsions."

This is a paradox of politics inherited from culture, religion, tradition as well as modern state machinations. Many factors are influencing political course and behavior and actions of political leaders in the country like Nepal.

Cultural Paradox

Some link the present political paradox as a product of religious and cultural paradox of Nepal.† Since unification among diversified culture stresses on the harmonized society, unification of heterogeneous political forces invite political uncertainty.

Nepal is a country of religious paradoxes where different faces of gods can be found in same place and devotees worship different aspects of gods and deities. So, religiously seen, there is nothing wrong to find rival factions shaking hands and making fun since the culture and religions have dominant role in shaping the political culture.

"Religious and cultural activities have a major role in shaping the politics. Nepalese religion and culture are heterogeneous in nature where the relations among different religious sects survive in harmony accepting each other's existence," said Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi, an anthropologist. "The nature of individual will depend upon the situation where socialization takes place."

In valley, every religious shrine is a home to different gods including a god supporting sacrifice and opposing it. This is a unique type of culture that exists here. The existence of present harmonious culture is a result of a long process of religious and cultural assimilation and tolerance.

"Religion and culture play important role in shaping social values. Being a member of society, politician may inherit certain traits of harmonious religious values," said Dr. Safalya Amatya, culture expert." I cannot say whether this temporary phenomenon of opportunistic alliance has any contribution from religion and culture. The religious and cultural harmonization is for the prosperity of society but the opportunistic political alliance is for destructive purposes."

Every human action is motivated by personal loss and gain. In politics, this is a sole objective to make and break alliances. "Political alliances do not need any faith and trust but it is simply made on some calculation of loss and gain," said a political analyst.

Girija Koirala shared the government with CPN-UML in the election government of 1999. CPN-UML backed Koirala to oust Bhattarai government in 2000. CPN-UML backed former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to remove Koirala.

îValues have their roots in early childhood and continue to develop through interaction with family and friends and participation in social organizations," said Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyaya, a senior psychologist at the Public Service Commission (PSC). "Values are the evaluative attitudes and the determinants of behavior. Values start taking forms from the experiences and interactions of biological and psychological needs with the surrounding-physical, social, cultural and other types of environments including the family, the social milieu, the peer group and others."

Full of paradoxes, Nepalese politics have been passing through an unpredictable phase of making and unmaking of political alliances. Although religious and cultural paradoxes are for social stability and harmony, the political irony, however, results in anarchy and instability.