Sushil-led Government-2

Gagan Thapa’s Suggestions For Prime Minister Koirala

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

It has been already almost two weeks since Sushil Koirala took the office of prime minister but Koirala has not been able to expand his cabinet. The government officials have complained that they could not work without the ministers at the ministries. Koirala has been surely impotent during the last two weeks. He could not take any decision. A NC youth leader Gagan Thapa has said that Prime Minister Koirala should immediately give the portfolio of the home ministry to the CPN-UML, and expand the cabinet without delay; the prime minister has the prerogative to fire any minister in case s/he did not function properly. Gagan Thapa has expressed very constructive and practical opinions concerning the formation of the cabinet, and then crafting a new constitution bringing all political parties together. If Prime Minister Koirala were to follow the opinions of Gagan Thapa, Koirala would be on the correct path to crafting a new constitution and then promulgating it within a year. However, Koirala and other NC leaders have been wasting time on discussing whether to give the portfolio of home ministry to the CPN-UML or not, according to Gagan Thapa. Setting aside the most important subject of crafting a new constitution, NC and CPN-UML leaders are set to create an environment for another people’s movement.

On February 22, 2014, speaking to the anchor of the morning program called ‘antar-sambad’ of the Radio Nepal, youth leader of NC also the directly elected member of the Constituent Assembly (CA) Gagan Thapa expressed very practical opinions. Some of those opinions are as follow. Prime Minister Koirala should not delay in expanding the cabinet but he should immediately expand it offering the portfolio of home ministry to the CPN-UML whether Koirala had agreed on it or not whether other NC leaders had hinted at giving the portfolio to the CPN-UML or not. In case, the home minister did not function to the satisfaction of the prime minister, the prime minister has the prerogative to fire any minister including the home minister whether s/he belonged to the NC or the CPN-UML. Currently, the NC leaders had been discussing from the morning to the evening whether to give the home ministry to the CPN-UML or not. They have been wasting days and nights discussing the unproductive subject matters setting aside the most important subject of crafting a new constitution. They have eleven months to complete a new constitution. So, they did not have many days to waste. All political parties including the CPN-Maoist that had stayed away from the elections to a new CA should be involved in crafting a new constitution. Credit of successfully promulgating a new constitution should go to all the political parties. CA should set up a ‘political dialogue committee’ on which the top leaders of all political parties should sit, and they together should resolve all disputed issues. This committee should discuss the subject matters that previously the top leaders used to go to different resorts to discuss. NC as the largest party should take the responsibility for all these matters.

It has been almost two weeks since Sushil Koirala took the oath of office of prime minister on February 10, 2014; Prime Minister Koirala has not been able to expand his cabinet of two ministers, as the CPN-UML did not agree to join his cabinet without having the portfolio of the home minister. Koirala and his colleagues said that they had never agreed on giving the home ministry to the CPN-UML but the CPN-UML leaders had been insisting that some of the NC leaders had clearly agreed on giving the home ministry to the CPN-UML.

Why the portfolio of the home ministry had been a bone of contention? In 1995 current vice-chairman of CPN-UML Bamdev Gautam was the deputy prime minister holding the portfolio of home minister. He held local elections. He successfully swept the local elections in favor of the CPN-UML. So, almost all political parties had been not in favor of giving the same portfolio to the same man for the same reason. The current government was to hold the local elections within six months. However, if we were to listen to NC youth leader Gagan Thapa, the prime minister had the prerogative to fire the home minister in case the home minister did not function to the satisfaction of the prime minister. However, firing the home minister might create uproar among the CPN-UML leaders; and they might pull out of the cabinet. Like it or not, Prime Minister Koirala might be facing the same problem he had been facing now when he needed to fire the home minister. However, Prime Minister Koirala should be bold enough to face such consequences. Doing such things would make the prime minister stronger and bolder. Such actions would expose the intention of the CPN-UML leaders.

The top state officials have complained that not having ministers at the ministries has hampered the major decision-making process, and has adversely affected the implementation of development projects. How could Prime Minister Koirala take it easy not expanding his cabinet? Koirala believed to be the matured politicians must have done his job of making cabinet efficiently and effectively so that it would not only help in implementing the development project but also expedite the crafting of a new constitution. Stalled cabinet has made the CA idle, some local newspaper wrote.

Following the seven-point agreement the NC and the CPN-UML had reached, both the parties jointly voted for the candidate of the CPN-UML for the office of the chairman of the CA, and elected Subhas Nemwang to it. Nemwang was not a new face but the same old person that had failed to act as the chairman of the CA but as the pawn of the top leaders of the then-four party political mechanism. Nobody would question about the ability of Nemwang but his style of working had already demonstrated that he could not lead the CA, and follow the process of settling the most disputed topics of crafting a new constitution. What we could anticipate from such a man. Top leaders liked him because Nemwang simply followed whatever they said to him to do. To be a pet of all the leaders was not difficult but to be a real leader was really a difficult task.

The current political calm must be the calm before the storm. Everybody had been waiting for what the NC and the CPN-UML would be doing concerning the federalism, federal states and system of governance, and how a new constitution would be made inclusive, and fair to all Nepalis. Madhesi and ethnic people had been saying that they were not going back from their stand on the rights of their people. Some of them had gone so far that they wanted the self-determination, and rights of the people to run the administration as they desired. They have been saying that they would take the issues to the streets again if their concerns were not addressed.

NC and CPN-UML, and some other political parties had been saying that the recent elections to the CA had vote out the demands for federalism, federal states, and system of governance of the Madhesi people and of the ethnic people. NC and CPN-UML leaders argued that the majority of the NC and the CPN-UML, and two-thirds majority along with other like-minded political parties were the vote for what the NC and CPN-UML had been taking stand on federalism, federal states and system of governance: the major subjects of dispute in the past.

Rallies, demonstrations, protests, shutdown of traffic, and shutdowns of Nepal might follow the actions of the NC and CPN-UML leaders if they were try to craft a new constitution without meeting the demands of the Madhesi and the ethnic people. Madhesis, ethnic people, UCPN-Maoist, and even CPN-Maoist have been following the wait-and-see policy on what the NC and the CPN-UML emerged as two major political parties after the recent elections to a new CA would be doing concerning the crafting of a new constitution. Madhesis and ethnic people were ready to take their issues to the streets.

Previously, the UCPN-Maoist and the Madhesi front on one side and the NC and the CPN-UML on another side could not agree on federalism and federal states, and system of governance; consequently, they agreed on letting the CA dissolved and on going to the people for a new mandate. The new mandate has been clearly in favor of the NC and the CPN-UML. So, we need to wait and see whether the Madhesis and ethnic people would simply follow what the NC and CPN-UML would do concerning a new constitution or would fight for what they had fought and gained in the past. Probably, they would not be prepared for losing the gains they have made during the Madhesi movement at the cost of so many lives of Madhesi youths.

Most probably, Koirala has not been making preparation for the eventualities of disagreements with the CPN-UMLa; so, he has been stuck at making a cabinet. He has not been able to do anything even after so many days of being a prime minister. His young colleague Gagan Thapa has many good recommendations. Prime minister Koirala would be well in position to resolve many problems he now has been facing if Koirala were to take most of the suggestions of Gagan Thapa.

Prime Minister Koirala should not anticipate smooth sailing of his two-thirds majority in the CA. He might try to bully the Madhesis and ethnic people but it would create an environment for another people’s movement. So, in this case also, Prime Minister would be well off if he were to take the suggestions of Gagan Thapa, and involve all political parties in one way or another in crafting a new constitution so that every party would have the credit for promulgating a new constitution.

February 24, 2014