Off The Record (Spotlight Weekly)

Gautam : Shy of agiation

Red Rhetoric

Communists the world over have thrived on rhetoric and CPN-UML leaders are no exception. As senior UML leaders hesitated to oppose the US-led military campaign against Iraq, they sent junior colleagues to take part in anti-war demonstrations. At a time when the party's top leaders were engulfed in internal controversy, even the youth wing found itself caught in the crossfire. Since followers of Bam Dev Gautam and K.P. Sharma Oli stayed away from the protest, general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal's followers had to fill the streets. Denouncing the US and its allies using many derogatory words, UML cadres disrupted Ratna Park for an hour. Nobody knows what impression the protesters gave to the US-led alliance, but UML leaders certainly found a new slogan against the evils of capitalism.

Ranabhat's Style

Speaker of House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat has his own way of addressing vital issues of the day. If someone asks him to do something, he invariably refuses. So, some Nepali Congress members insisted he convene a meeting of the MPs of the dissolved House of Representatives and Ranabhat seemed interested. Those who are close to Ranabhat know that he always takes decisions in reverse. The speaker's skill, shall we say?

Rana : Shifting alliance

RPP's Stand

Following their attendance at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leaders are now working as members of the governing party. Although it took many months for the new leader Pashupati Sumsher Rana to decide which side the RPP was on, the party's present policy shows that it is blindly supporting Chand. The RPP's move does not make any difference to the status of the government. This is the reason Chand has not said anything about the support of his party.

Leader Sans Followers

Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala is busy meeting party workers to hammer out differences. Instead of healing the rifts, Koirala's party has seen many new differences. Although former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba left the party with a large number of party workers, another strong group emerged soon after the split. Koirala is calling for a broader democratic alliance to launch a nation-wide campaign, but his senior colleagues, including former blue-eyed boy Narahari Acharya, are threatening him. Whether one likes it or not, the Nepali Congress is a party of enduring differences. If Acharya joins Koirala, Ram Chandra Poudel stands against him. If all of them stand together, Koirala will himself play the dissenter's role.

City of Rumors

Nepalese society is guided by rumors. Recently, when United States-led front attacked Iraq, Nepalese instantly lined up at petrol pumps. Regardless of the war's impact on the global order, Nepalese converged on the pumps with their motorbikes, cars and cans. Although Nepal Oil Corporation claimed it has adequate stock of petroleum products, few were willing to believe it. Old habits die harder in a city of rumors.