National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

In Dilemma

The UML's current set of decisions indicate that it wants something more than concessions to join the government

By A CORRESPONDENT

After more than a week of speculations and debate, Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has finally revealed the conditions to join the government led by Nepali Congress (Democratic) - indicating the party’s dilemma.

By announcing party's 51-points agenda for Common Minimum Program (CMP), the UML leader Nepal - whose party recently pulled out from the five party agitation - has expressed clear reservations about joining the Deuba government.

"If the government accepts our 51 points common minimum program, we do not have
any hesitation to join the government. Since our party sees prime minister Deuba's government as progressive than previous two governments, we have only a few differences left," said Nepal addressing a press conference.

UML leaders : Trapped in a dilemma

Following the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba, the UML pulled itself out from the five party agitation. CPN-UML leaders openly defend prime minister Deuba's government as a step towards correction of regression.

The UML's 51-points agenda include many unnecessary things and some of the agenda are even irritating for the government.

The party has included points that could be considered as anti-monarchist and anti-India – apparently as a bid to portray itself as the nationalist force. As usual, the UML has demanded the revision of 1950 treaty with India to prove itself as a nationalist and it has tried to paint an anti-monarchist picture by asking to rewrite the national anthem.

In the last five decades, the demand for scrapping the Nepal-India treaty of 1950 has continued to remain a main agenda for communist parties to justify their nationalist stand whereas they demand to change national anthem to present their progressive attitude. Political analysts, however, say that neither their demand for revision of 1950 treaty is based on nationalism nor does changing national anthem turn their party into a progressive force.

These points will not achieve anything other than irritate the monarch and India. The UML's demand for revision of the treaty will give ammunition to few Indian officials who are working to pollute the mind of common and rationale Indian population in general. Likewise, the demand to amend the national anthem will provoke the extremely hardliner palace officials who can use UML's demand to justify the cause that the parties are anti-monarchists.

"It is unfortunate that Nepalese communists have always been used against Nepalese interest. Raising the issue of revision of 1950 treaty does not make a party nationalist," said a former Nepalese diplomat. "Whenever communist UML demands revision of treaty with India, I am always afraid what the country will have to sacrifice.” The UML had in the past abandoned its anti-Indian stand following the ratification of Mahakali Treaty in parliament in 1996.

This time around, after pulling out from the collective 18-points agenda and the five party joint agitation, UML, which was frantically searching for ways to present a nationalist and anti-monarchist stand, quickly endorsed an open option for constituent assembly along with Nepali Congress (Democratic) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP).

The ruling NC (Democratic) and RPP have already endorsed the proposal that new constitution should be formulated in case of consensus among all parties.

However, although the UML is in a dilemma over whether to join the government or support it from outside, Deuba's government and RPP share many points raised in the UML's common minimum program.

"We have commonalities with the UML's common minimum programs and the government should not have any hesitation to endorse them," said Gopal Man Shrestha, a leader of NC (Democratic). “Prime minister Deuba held meeting on Tuesday (June 15) with CPN-UML general secretary Nepal. We hope that the prime minister will expand the cabinet soon after giving it the shape of an all party government."

Amid conflicting signals, a clear picture is yet to emerge whether the UML will join Deuba government and, if it does, on what terms.