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Disruptive Populism
Pressured by a handful of intellectuals, political leaders are competing in the race for populism
By KESHAB POUDEL
“India supported seven party agitation and suggested a dialogue with the Maoists,” said former prime minister and octogenarian Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala giving his first reaction to the press at the residence of his nephew Dr. Shashanka Koirala upon arrival from his week long visit from India . “My visit was successful to garner the support in India in favor of restoration of democracy in Nepal .”
Koirala, supreme leader of seven party alliance, had left for New Delhi in a desperate mood and has returned with jubilation. Boosting the morale of his party workers outside Tribhuwan International Airport , Congress leader Koirala walked along with his party workers for five minutes at the temperature of about 34 celsius. So the line of Koirala is now complete as there will be confrontation with the King and dialogue and negotiation with the Maoists.
“I had talked with Maoist leaders but I don’t want to mention how and where,” thundered Koirala even as majority of his own party workers are displaced and uprooted from the villages by the Maoists.
It reminds the end of juxtaposition the memorable statement of legend B.P. Koirala that he would not go into confrontation wit the King nor would succumb to the authoritarian Panchayat system. “The present leader Girija Prasad Koirala has reservations on the stand of B.P. Koirala regarding the institution of monarchy and the spirit of patriotism,” said an analyst. Former prime minister Koirala, who is highly respected Nepalese politician in India , failed to exploit the opportunities of frankly speaking about the reality in Nepal with Indian leaders.
If Koirala cannot speak about Nepal ’s real problem, nobody will dare to speak anything that is of dislike to Indians. In this context, Congress leader Koirala, who has lost his balancing act, in totality, is still compromising and daring compared to his other colleagues.
Koirala seems to have forgotten about his stature in politics. Koirala did not need to go to India to criticize the King. His failure in his recent visit to India is that he did not say anything about who uprooted them from village and who made monarch authoritarian. Is it the King himself or the Maoists?
For his political survival, Koirala is taking the side of extremists but there are many extremists in communist front who will never let Girija Prasad Koirala win the race of populism. CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has already fixed his starting point in the race with Koirala with these words, “We want absolute democracy with sovereignty on people, all power on people and people’s control over power.” Nepal uttered all the populist words available in Stalin and Lenin’s dictionary. Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, CPN-UML has played all kinds of destructive role destabilizing the legitimate elected government. Nepal is an evergreen person chirping populist slogans all the time.
Nepal - whose party halted the proceedings of the House of Representatives for 64 consecutive days boycotting Koirala and called many bandhas destroying public vehicles during the activation of parliament – expressed another extreme slogan last week when he stated that only democracy is the pillar of the country and not institution of monarchy revealing his possible alliance with Maoists.
Nepal had gone to palace asking for the dismissal of elected government many times in the past and now he is demanding handing over total power to the people at a gathering of Nepalese intellectuals and other senior western diplomats at a meeting organized by Ganeshman Singh Memorial Trust.
“Monarchy has already betrayed us and monarchy is against democracy,” said Nepal . When Nepal made these comments, there were bewildering faces of diplomats present in the meeting. The diplomats – who have perhaps instructions from their home office to keep close relations with the opposition forces – find it difficult. Maintaining known British diplomatic decorum, British ambassador Keith Bloomfield – who addressed the meeting – skipped the controversy.
In the race for populism, Nepali Congress leaders are going to be the main losers. “Girija Prasad Koirala seems to have lost proper political stand,” said a political analyst. “He began agitations and mobilized substantial support externally - though not so much internal - with a slogan to reactivate constitution. Now he has drifted from the previous stand and he is prepared to go to an extent including Maoist demand of constituent assembly to do away with this present constitution
“Politicians generally have eyes upon the power not on the legality and it is difficult to understand how Girija Prasad Koirala will manage his position in the Constituent Assembly when nowhere in the country has he been able to organize agitations and uprisings excepts in a few districts of the country where Army has been able to provide them peace and security. In most of the districts they who have guns in their hands may try to prevail upon any political arrangement. How he could expect to command a decisive strength in constituent assembly is a puzzling question,” said the analyst.
One of the complaints about Congress leader Koirala is that he missed the opportunities to discuss Nepal ’s problems with Indian politicians – who are genuine friends of Nepalese people.
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