Chairman KP Oli’s Political Madness

Chairman KP Oli’s Political Madness

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Speaking to the reporters at his Dhum-barahi party office, Chairman Of CPN-UML KP Oli spoke harshly and said that Prime Minister She Bahadur Deuba was leading the country to ruin because Deuba reduced the age of senior citizens to 65 from 70 for making them eligible for the senior citizen monthly allowance, and he would reverse all the decisions Deuba had made after he would be the next prime minister. He should rather need to spend his time and energy on concluding the unification of the two major communist parties into one if he were really for making Nepal a great. However, his lieutenants have been obstructing to the unification. Oli has highly exaggerated whatever he told the reporters in the press conference making the common folks hard to believe in what he said.

If Oli were in the good condition of his mental health he would not attempt to bully the prime minister publicly; he would rather quietly overturned all the decisions he did not like Prime Minister Deuba had made. However, speaking to the reporters against Deuba so callously had simply demonstrated his mental status at that point in time.

Deuba even did not bother to respond to what Oli said making clear that Oli could not surely bully Deuba, as Deuba had been four-time prime minister whereas Oli had been only one time with the favor of Chairman of CPN-Maoist-Center Prachanda. As soon as Oli lost the favor of Prachanda he immediately fell down from power in the immediate past. Again Oli’s chance of being a prime minister a second time entirely depends on Prachanda.

With the grace of senior citizens, Oli’s party won the top positions winning the majority seats in the parliament in the provincial and federal elections making him the claimant of the top elected office. However, Oli became mad at Deuba when Deuba reduced the age of senior citizens to 65 years from 70. He even said that it would make the country bankrupt.

Oli has been awarded with the majority of the seats in the parliament because the manifesto of the Left Alliance of which his party CPN-UML is a member, has stated that the monthly allowance for the senior citizens would be increased to NPR 5,000 from the current NPR 2,000. Now, after receiving the votes from the senior citizens, Oli has been saying that even reducing the age of senior citizens for being eligible for receiving allowance would lead Nepal to a penniless country.

Oli should have been grateful to Deuba for reducing the age of senior citizens for allowance, and then Oli could have said that his government would increase the allowance to NPR 5,000 to meet the election campaign pledge then he would have been running high in his political career but he is sliding downhill as senior citizens would hate him for what he said that he would reverse the decisions Deuba made on all including the age of senior citizens for the monthly allowance.

Surely, reducing age of senior citizens for being eligible for receiving a monthly allowance will add certain financial burden to the State treasury, as the number of senior citizens claiming senor citizen allowance will increased; however, it would not lead the country to bankrupt, as Oli claimed it would indicating Oli did not know the real meaning of ‘bankrupt,’ and the financial condition of the State, and he did not care about the senior citizens.

For the information of Oli, any State would not go bankrupt no matter how much money any States spend on social safety net or on a war or anything else. Nepal has about 30 million people that pay tax to the State, as almost every item they consume the State receive tax in one form or another including value added tax applied on every item sold or purchased. So, the State would never be short of money but only the State is short of any well-educated politicians to run the country well following the rule of law without misusing the State treasury.

Next, if Oli becomes a short of money when he becomes a next prime minister he could borrow money from the common folks issuing the State treasury bonds or use the foreign loans the neighbors are willing to provide Nepal with. For example, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged NPR 100 billion for a loan to Nepal at a discounted interest rate. None of the prime ministers has tried to use the money so far.

In the extreme case of short of money and if Oil has no options to have money for running the State, he could ask the central bank of Nepal for printing money. It would fuel both the economy and the inflation, and Oli could reap a reward for growing the economy. So, Oli has so many options but he has been so nervous about Nepal going to be a bankrupt even before he has become a prime minister. This brings us to ask whether Oli is mentally stable or not.

Now, Oli has to increase the senior citizen allowance to NPR 5,000 from NPR 2,000 to keep his election pledge. Oli could ask his economists how many times the financial burden would be add up to the State treasury when he would increase the monthly allowance to NPR 5,000 per month; they would simply tell him 2.5 times. Then, he could go on asking how to mobilize the additional funding required for paying the allowance to the senior citizens. His vice-chairman of National Planning Commission or his finance minister will repeat the possible ways and means what I have already stated in this write-up.

So, Oli does not need to be so nervous about Nepal being a bankrupt. He could increase the allowance and he could pay up to the additional senior citizens that would come to claim the allowance after Deuba reduced the age of the senior citizens for monthly allowance. Consequently, Oli’s claim that Nepal will be soon penniless because Deuba has add up a few thousands of senior citizens for monthly allowance reducing the eligibility age to 65 years, is virtually baseless and invalid. So, Oli could have a quiet night sleep or even a day nap if he could afford without worrying about the funding required for paying monthly allowance to senior citizens.

Oli should be grateful to Deuba for his decisions on reducing the age of senor citizens, and appreciate him for doing so to keep the senior citizen voters happy and for voting for Oli and his party in the future rather than lashing out Deuba so harshly for doing a very good thing; consequently, Oli has been surely pushing the senior citizens from voting for his party to NC in the next elections. Thus, Oil has already started off the downhill journey even before being a prime minister.

Oli has not mentioned the allowance of NPR 5,000 per month Deuba decided to provide the patients of terminal cancer, two-kidney failure and of spinal injury causing paralysis with. However, Oli saying he would invalidate all decisions Deuba made means automatically include the allowances provided to the patients of incurable diseases. Thus, Oli has shown no mercy even to such terminally ill patients.

Again for the information of Oli, I have copied what Kautilya wrote several centuries before Jesus was born, about the social welfare the kings needed to provide the people not only the senior citizens but also other helpless and disabled folks. “The King shall provide the orphans, the aged, the infirm, the afflicted, and the helpless with maintenance. He shall also provide subsistence to helpless women when they are carrying and also to the children they give birth to.” (Source: Kautilya’s Arthashastra translated into English by R. Shamasastry p 62)

Oli could have blast Prithvi Narayan Shah and his descendants that did everything to keep the entire people poor and diseased not to mention providing the common folks with welfare, as the ancient economist Kautilya had recommended. However, once visiting the Chandragiri Hill without knowing or disregarding how Prithvi had committed genocide, he said that a statue of Prithvi needed to install there, as Prithvi unified Nepal.

The Statue was installed there later on to attract the common folks to visit the area but it has backfired because most of the people: the descendents of the victims of the murderous acts of Prithvi did not visit the area, as they did not want to see even the statue of Prithvi.

Deuba had reinstated the State celebration of the anniversary of Prithvi despite the opposition of the descendents of the victims of merciless killing and looting done by Prithvi immediately after taking over any States in the east, center or west. We need to watch whether Oli as a prime minister would revoke the decision of Deuba on celebrating the anniversary of Prithvi or not.

So, blasting Deuba for making a decision on providing benefits to a few thousands senor citizens and charging him with making the State bankrupt, Oli have alienated the senior citizens. It would have long-term effects on the citizens voting for his party and for him too for what he has said, for what he would do possibly denying the senior citizen allowance to some senior citizens of the 60 years of age and above but below 70. In doing so, Oil would be practically contradicting the policy of his party on increasing the senior citizen allowance to NPR 5,000. However, whether Oli would keep the election campaign pledge of increasing the senior citizen allowance remains to be seen, as he has been nervous about making the country bankrupt.

Again Oli needed to thank Deuba for declaring 16 cadres of the then CPM-Marxist-Leninist: predecessor of the current CPN-UML of which Oil is the chairman today, the government of King Birendra had mercilessly killed in the Khoku Chhintang in the Dhankuta district on November 13, 1979, martyrs; however, CPN-UML never been able to do so despite being in power three times, and a coalition partner in the several previous governments. So, Oli needed to make clear to the common folks why his party and he could not declare the cadres of his own party martyrs, and they needed to wait for Deuba to do so for such a long time.

Oli does not need to worry about the State going to bankrupt declaring the cadres of his party martyrs, as it does not cost much to the State treasury but he has not done so even then, and he even probably remember that those guys have died for making Oli a prominent leader. Is really Oli need to be appreciative to Deuba rather than pouring so much of venom on Deuba for doing whatever Oli needed to do? 

Next, Oli has been so panicky about the voluntary retirement of State civil servants that will cost NPR 60 billion for the State treasury, according to the Oli’s estimate, and letting go the State employees that have only a few years to go before taking the forced retirement. Oli said that the country needed those State employees for different levels of the federalism. However, Oli does not want to understand that those employees have been already old enough to get retirement in a few years’ time if they do not take the voluntary retirement. They would make room for new energetic recruits for engaging them at different level of federalism that Oli did not like to comprehend.

Deuba has admitted Anuradha Koirala to his party and then he appointed her to the chief of Province-3, which CPN-UML Rabindra Adhikari speaking to the anchor of the ‘antar-sambad’ of the Radio Nepal morning program on January 19, 2018 said is ‘dhan-dha’ means a business. Now, Oli has admitted Komal Oli to the CPN-UML, and then he made her a candidate for the National Assembly seat, what Rabindra Adhikari would say about it whether it is ‘dhan-dha’ or not. What is the difference between Oli and Deuba in this case? The only difference is Deuba is a sitting prime minister while Oil is a prime-minister-in-waiting.

Now, let us talk about the left parties unification in other words unification of CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist-Center into a new communist party.

Oli has been so intoxicated with the election victory; he did not want to see left and right just move forward in a speed nobody could catch him up with even a highest speed no matter who made his party and him made so victorious in the provincial and federal elections. So, he did not want to listen to any body except for his lieutenants such as Nirdhan Rai, Ishwor Pokharel and Shankher Pokharel. In fact through their mouths, Oli has been saying that Prachanda will not receive the presidency of a new party no matter what happens in other words the unification of the left parties is in peril thanks to the ego of Oli and his lieutenants.

Chairman of CPN-Maoist-Center Prachanda said, “I want the party unification before forming a government. That will be according to the people’s aspiration, and to our commitment,” as quoted in “gorkhapatra” on January 28, 2018. Prachanda wants to complete the party unification means his party and he want to have a reasonable share of positions in a new party. Senior leaders of CPN-UML such as Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal and Bhim Bahadur Rawal have been for making Prachanda the chairman of a new party after the unification of two parties whereas the Maoist-Center leaders have been for either the prime minister or the chairman of a new party but Oli through his lieutenants have been saying that the Maoists would not have both. So, anybody could guess what would happen to the unification of CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist-Center if Oli were to follow his lieutenants.

If the news readers have not forgotten Prachanda had quit the coalition with Oli, and tore down the Oli’s government for Oli not keeping his commitment to quit the office of prime minister in favor of Prachanda, and Prachanda formed a new coalition with the NC and became the prime minister in 2016 and then quit office after nine months or so in favor of Deuba as agreed upon. At that time Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal had said that Oli should have quit office in favor of Prachanda to save the left coalition of that time. We could not say that the old story might not repeat again.

Speaking at an event held by ‘Rakta Sanchar Club’ in Bhaktapur on January 25, 2018, Chairman of Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party Narayan Man Bijuckchhe said that a new government would be of the coalition of NC, CPN-Maoist-Center, and Madheshi political parties, and CPN-UML would be out of the government, as CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist-Center have been focusing on the share in positions rather than on the ideology for their unification, according to the news published on “gorkhapatra” on January 26, 2018. However, the prophesy of Bijuckchhe comes true or not remains to be seen. Bijuckchhe is an old politician that has the political background of more than six decades. His predictions must be based on the strong political events he must have been watching.

A new government supposed to be built on the foundation of the two major communists parties would be at best be a coalition government rather than a government of a new communist party at worst Prachanda would take a side of Deuba and Madheshi political parties to form a new government, and Prachanda would be a new prime minister for two-and-a-half years again thanks to Oli and his lieutenants. Forget about the election pledge, and the voters’ aspirations for anything politicians have been trumpeting.

January 28, 2018