Nepal: Murky Politics!

Kathmandu: Prachanda and Girija Prasad Koirala though differ in their political line of considerations and size, however, one thing is common in both of these two Nepali leaders.

Power greed! Yes! Insatiable lust for power possess both.

What a striking similarity that it is by all means. Both can go to any extent if power is confirmed.

While Koirala has the distinction of demolish this unfortunate country many a times in the past then Prachanda too is no less than the former one. Prachanda, to boot, distressed this country as and when he so desired during what he calls his “People’s War”.

However, Koirala broke this country into many pieces through various scams and plane hijack (Lauda, Chase air scandal and Twin Otter plane hijack in 1976) by being in Nepal in person then Prachanda tore apart this nation-state by being in an alien land.

This is the difference in between the two.

One striking feature that clearly divides them is their intimacy with the neighboring countries.

While Koirala was born in India and thus his heart naturally goes to serve the prime interests of the country which gave him the birth, however, Prachanda was born in Nepal but very cleverly seduced the Indian regime and waged a fatal war against his own motherland. The suffering of the lay men apart during the rebellion period.

Yet another special quality differentiates the two august Nepali leaders.

While Koirala never hid his “love and affection” for the soil where he saw the first light of the sun then Prachanda in a superb manner exhibited his friendship with the mighty neighbors-India and China.

Koiurala is blunt then Prachanda speaks double most of the time and in the process has kept both India and China guessing to ascertain as to whose interests he was serving?

To recall, Prachanda while in India in a voice choked with emotion convinces the Indian leadership that he was their man then when he makes a sudden dash to China, the Chinese believe him as the “living disciple of Mao Tse Tung” born in Nepal.

In the process, he has been befooling both the mighty neighbors. But are they fools as Prachanda believes? Definitely not.

For certain mysterious reasons, Prachanda is not in talking terms with the Indian establishment these days, however, when he will begin applauding the Indian establishment is any body’s guess.

His double speak is his real weakness. He must admit this. Analysts have been told that Prachanda’s inner coterie even tell him in private to refrain from making double talks and save his already waning prestige and popularity in the party he heads at the moment.

Prachanda remains undeterred and in the process he has irritated in a Himalayan manner the Indian establishment to the extent that when enough had been enough, the self appointed administrator of Nepal, Ambassador Rakesh Sood told a group of “select” media gathering at his private residence a fortnight back that “Just have patience…Prachanda will have a similar fate of King Gyanendra”.

The select media men enjoyed a lavish Indian food. But was that a free dinner? Forget it. India and free dinner can’t go together.

Now if Rakesh so desires then Prachanda’s fate must be similar to what the ex-King has for what India desires, as is the past experience, gets ultimately fulfilled. This should alarm Prachanda that his days are nearing an end.

An India nurtured man, sorry to say, will meet the fate as preferred by the Indian regime.

Rakesh Sood’s blunt “assurances” provided to the “lavish dinner” attending Nepali media men must have elated some in the said group, however, questions remain yet unanswered as to why all of a “sudden”, Prachanda-basically an India man (or he pretended it to be so while enjoying Delhi’s sophisticated hospitality?) went berserk against India?

Madhav Kumar Nepal, yet another India elevated man, has reasons to have sleepless nights in series.

Mr. Nepal is trembling since the very first day of the formation of the much publicized High Level Mechanism.

The Body in itself did not terrify Mr. Nepal much, however, what shook him more from within is the presence of an all time crook Nepali leader, Koirala, as its Head.

PM Nepal must have recalled how Prachanda rushed to Singapore, November 17, 2009, and mage “seven point” agreement wherein one of the points agreed upon in Singapore mentioned that “bids to press the Nepal President will be initiated as demanded by Prachanda and his party…and when the President will feel dishonored, he will himself tender his resignation only to be replaced by Girija Prasad Koirala…Koirala is turn will forward Prachanda’s name as the country’s next prime Minister.

The agreement remains yet kicking and alive.

Koirala has no qualms with India as it is his soil, however, Prachanda in the process of being taken as a national hero by the domestic population pounced upon the Indian establishment in an unprecedented manner beginning December 22, 2009 which continues even today

A pretty shaken Prachanda upon listening from Sood that he awaited Gyanendra’s fate rushed to see Koirala and hastened the formation of the High level Body and made Koirala the head of the said body.

Prachanda is unbelievably clever. Admit this reality.

He wants to kill two birds with one stone.

The first bird is India. Through Koirala, Prachanda wants to correct his damaged image in the Indian establishment to which he has already been assured.

India too needs the tangible support of Koirala because the Southern neighbor has already concluded that Madhav Nepal is a lost case in Nepal and that it was during his Premiership that India was denuded.

An insulted India wants a change in Nepal, however, the problem with India is Koirala can’t be taken for granted given his deteriorating health and Prachanda stands now exposed that he was a pro-Nepal element which the Indian lens take as ant-India.

But then yet, the increasing Prachanda-Koirala nexus is troubling Mr. Nepal. The fear factor has already gripped Mr. Nepal as he has listened what Sujata Koirala said the other day.

Sujata said that the UML was intending to capture the State and thus some other suitable alternative to this government must be found.

When Sujata says so then she must have spoken her father’s voice and thus Madhav’s sleepless nights in series.

But Prachanda too is not safe in his own party. The line of thinking that India must not be taken to task the way Prachanda did in the recent past is increasing which by implication meant that the Indian lobby-presumed to be led by Dr. Babu ram Bhattarai-is not that weak as is being given to understand instead those who primarily ballooned Prachanda to pounce upon India too have been shifting their allegiance towards Dr. Bhattarai.

This does mean that the hardliner coterie inside the Maoists camp led by Mohan Baidya-Kiran is weakening to the extent that there now exist two equally powerful pro and anti India lobbies.

If the two differing lobbies could not patch up differences on time then the party may see a vertical split on the count of India. This is for sure.

Undeniably, Rakesh Sood is hell bent on splitting the Maoist Party and the process is in progress.

Albeit the Nepali Congress too has freshly landed in trouble. While the central committee members who are not the relatives of Koirala prefer this government to continue and the set loyal to Koirala, as stated by Sujata, prefers this government replaced and finally led by the Nepali Congress.

The NC party once again stands divided on whether this government be allowed to continue or toppled?

This is the design of Prachanda and he has clearly bagged success. Split in the NC is what Prachanda wants from his inner heart.

No different story is for the ruling UML. Chairman Khanal, half Maoists- wants Madhav Nepal’s government being replaced by some other more so, if chance favored, he himself wants to be the next PM.

Bam Dev Gautam-the two third Maoists-is not even in talking terms with his own Party’s Prime Minister.

So this means that the major parties are currently in rough weather.

Nevertheless, a new twist to the country’s politics has been provided by a frustrating UML leader, Pradip Nepal just then other day.

Mr. Nepal when asked what if the NC pulled its support to this government, he said, a new coalition of the UML together with the Maoists will form the next government.

Prachanda’s party, in this eventuality, will be the prime beneficiary.

This is very dangerous news which indicated that in some dark corners of Kathmandu, something is being cooked up for toppling this government.

The Indian establishment, we have been freshly told, is not happy with the manner Nepal PM is inviting the Dragon seeking support for harnessing the Nepali water resources. The Chinese have already captured Nepal’s Hydro projects.

For India, this should have already become enough. When enough becomes enough, India knows how to fix the increasing enough.

Summing up, the High level mechanism headed by Koirala bodes ill both for Nepal as a nation-state and Mr. Nepal as Nepal PM.

That’s all.

Posted on : 2010-02-06 09:13:14

Comments (1)