Some Truth In Rumors

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

The Nepalese media have made the wide publicity of the agreement apparently reached between Chairman of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist) Prachanda and Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala on a new coalition for changing the President and then the Prime Minister. Both the followers of Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala have vehemently attempted to prove the media publicity of the agreement is in fact false. In view of the past political maneuver of NC President Koirala, the media publicity of the agreement between Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala must have some truth.

In November 2009, NC President Girija Prasad Koirala has flown off on an air ambulance that has come to Nepal from Singapore to pick him up for health checkups in Singapore. He has been suffering from the low oxygen in the blood causing him difficult to breathe. His daughter Foreign Minister Sujata and his nephew doctor have accompanied him.

According to the media report, before leaving Nepal for Singapore, daughter Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala has talked to Chairman Prachanda and has told him that her father NC President Koirala would like to talk to him about the political polarization obviously for changing the current government and forming a new government while he is in Singapore.

So, on the pretext of training his party cadres in Singapore, Chairman Prachanda accompanied by his Foreign Department Chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara flew off to Singapore and met with ailing NC President Koirala at the hospital obviously in presence of Koirala’s daughter and nephew.

Upon arrival at the international airport in Kathmandu, jubilant Chairman Prachanda has said to the reporters that the current government would soon fall and a new government would be in place hinting that he has reached an agreement with NC President Koirala in Singapore on a new coalition.

Obviously reacting fast to Chairman Prachanda’s information on forming a new government, the NC central committee members called a meeting, and decided to continue to support the current government headed by Madhav Nepal. They have condemned the Nepalese media for reporting the secret deal Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala have reportedly reached in Singapore on November 17 saying the media reports are fabricated and baseless in a statement released by NC Parliamentary Leader Ram Chandra Poudel.

At the same time, the Nepalese media have started off publishing various versions of the agreement Chairman Prachanda has reached with NC President Koirala. One of the versions is Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala have agreed on debating the unconstitutional move of the President at the legislature on directly writing a letter to the army chief, and then on forcing the President to resign, and then electing NC President Koirala to the President, then removing Prime Minister Madhav Nepal, and ultimately forming a new government.

This agreement on making NC President Koirala a next president and forming a new government is very logical considering the desires of both NC President Koirala and Chairman Prachanda. No doubt NC President Koirala has been suffering from not being able to get elected to the first President. Similarly, Chairman Prachanda has been for removing Prime Minister Madhav Nepal. Both men have realized the past mistakes of not cooperating each other on the consensus politics.

Upon return from Singapore, NC President Koirala has not spoken anything about the talks he has held with Chairman Prachanda. His party members have not been in favor of following his order without questions.  So, NC President Koirala has been at odds with the members of the central committee of his party. Then, he must have thought it would be better for him to keep quiet until the political environment conducive to his political move is created.

However, his daughter Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala has publicly stated that her father Koirala and Chairman Prachanda has not reached any agreement in Singapore; the talks was held in presence of her and his cousin doctor; so the media reports are all false. She even has said that her father Koirala has reached such a political stature that he does not need to be a President. In other words, her father has reached the status of beyond the limit of the President. Thus, daughter Koirala has elevated father Koirala to the status of highest standing. She also has said that nobody could remove the current President.

However, daughter Koirala did not spare other NC leaders and has said that some of the NC leaders have been conspiring against the high level political mechanism her father has on the mind to set up for breaking the current political deadlock. In fact former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Poudel have spoken against setting up such a mechanism. However, she has said that her father would set up a high-level political mechanism for resolving the current political deadlock; her father is the only person who could rise above the party politics and resolve the political stalemate in the country.

Similarly, Foreign Department Chief of the UCPN-Maoist Krishna Bahadur Mahara has also publicly said that his boss Prachanda has not reached any sorts of deal the Nepalese media has been reporting. Mr. Mahara has accompanied Chairman Prachanda to Singapore. However, UCPN-Maoist leader CP Gajurel has confirmed that indeed Chairman Prachanda and NC President have reached a secret deal in Singapore on toppling the current government erroneously believing NC President is still a key to making and breaking a government.

If we believe Sujata Koirala and Krishna Bahadur Mahara then Chairman Prachanda had not made any deal with NC President Koirala but if we believe in the story of CP Gajurel and the Nepalese media’s convincing reporting then they have in fact made a deal in Singapore to topple the current government and replace the president.

Nephew Koirala has also hinted that the current government would soon be of the past. He has accompanied NC President Koirala to Singapore, and was present in the meeting between Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala held at the hospital in Singapore. So, Chairman Prachanda and NC President Koirala have reached some sorts of deal in Singapore if we take the hint of the nephew Koirala seriously.

After the Nepalese media advocating the deal Chairman Prachanda and NC President has reached in Singapore is true or false for almost a week, UCPN-Maoist leader CP Gajurel has said that his party has made a mistake in believing that NC President is still a man behind the making and breaking of a government. He also accused the CPN-UML of not having any political principles and running the current government following the instructions of the NC leaders. He also has said that the failure of NC President to keep his words of toppling the current government has shown that NC President has been no more than a helpless leader watching the activities of the members of the central committee of NC.

Despite the fact that the Maoists have been questioning the legitimacy of the current coalition government of 22-political parties, as Prime Minister Madhav Nepal was a defeated man in not only one constituency but also in his home constituency in the elections held for the Constituent Assembly in April 2008, Acting President Sushil Koirala and Parliamentary Leader Ram Chandra Poudel have been supporting the current corrupt government presided over by Madhav Nepal making the deal NC President Koirala has reached with Chairman Prachanda in Singapore not workable.

Some Maoist leaders have been accusing the NC leaders of conspiring with the CPN-UML leaders against the fledging republic attempting on dissolving the constituent assembly and then imposing the presidential rule in the country. Some leaders of the CPN-UML have confirmed that some NC leaders have approached them for dissolving the constituent Assembly. They have even approached the Indian leaders for sounding their support for such a political move in Nepal. Chairman of Madheshi People’s Rights Forum Upendra Yadav has confirmed that in fact some of the NC leaders have approached the Indian leaders for dissolving the constituent Assembly. He got the message from the Indian leaders when he visited India in November 2009.

Whether the political deal going on behind the scene is true or false is actually a dirty political game, unprincipled politicians have been playing in the interest of their political parties or of themselves in Nepal disregarding the people’s mandate for the consensus politics. If all the politicians want to lead this nation to a glorious and prosperous one they certainly need to follow the mandate given by the people for the consensus politics.


December 5, 2009