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Slap On Cheek Becomes Blessing In Disguise For Khanal
By KTM Metro Reporter
February 3, 2011: finally, Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal becomes the next prime minister thanks to the Maoists that have adopted the most matured political strategy voting for Khanal in the parliamentary election to a new prime minister. Khanal in turn has succeeded in his policy on building a consensus on forming a new government without the NC. However, he needs to approach the NC leaders and take them together to complete the peace process and the constitution writing on time. He should not repeat the mistakes of the Maoists not taking the NC with them after they have assumed the power in May 2008.
Khanal has taken a slap on his cheek from his own cadre for taking the election to a new prime minister hostage for more than eight months not voting for or against the prime ministerial candidate for sixteen times. Finally, he has succeed to get the blessings of the Maoists for becoming a next prime minister until next May but he might get extension if the Constituent Assembly cannot complete the writing of a new constitution and extends the term of the Constituent Assembly for the second time otherwise he will be the prime minister for four months, and until general elections are held for a new parliament following a new constitution.
Madhav Nepal and his corrupt ministers have had enough time in office, and soon will leave the office for the next ministers to come. Nepalis will remain vigilant how the new ministers will behave whether they will follow the path of the corrupt Madhav Nepal and his co-workers have adopted in the past or work for the people and the country.
Just before three hours to go for an election to a new prime minister, the UCPN-Maoist has held an emergency meeting and decided to pull out its candidate Prachanda from the election to a new prime minister and then vote for Khanal, as the leaders of the UCPN-Maoist have seen that Prachanda has no chance of winning the election despite the seven small parties are wiling to support him. However, Dr. Baburam Bhattaria has written a note of dissent on the decision made by the emergency meeting on pulling out the candidate and then voting for Khanal.
While addressing the parliament to announce the withdrawal of his candidacy, Prachanda has said that his party has decided to vote for Khanal for breaking the political deadlock and for completing the peace process and the constitution writing on time as aspired by the Nepalese people.
Consequently, Khanal has received 368 of the 598 votes cast in the parliamentary election held on February 3, 2011. The country has been without a government since Madhav Nepal resigned on June 30, 2010.
The election of Khanal to a new prime minister has been a slap on the cheeks of Madhav Nepal and KP Oli that they have not anticipated him to win the election and don’t want him to win the election despite the fact that Mahdav Nepal has proposed Khanal for the candidate for a new prime minister and KP Oli has seconded it. So, Khanal will face strong challenges from these two guys rather than anybody from outside his party.
In May 2008, Khanal has led the team of 18 parties to the president for urging him to save the job of the then Chief of Army Staff fired by Prime Minister Prachanda and save the country from the Maoists grabbing the power obviously for he himself becoming a prime minister but at that time his rival Madhav Nepal grabbed the opportunity of becoming a new Prime Minister with the support of the NC and some Madheshi political parties and has robbed the country for 20 months. We hope Khanal will not do the same thing in the coming days.
After the defeat of its candidate Ram Chandra Poudel, President of NC Sushil Koirala has announced that his party will sit on the opposition bench. However, if the NC leaders are sincere to building a consensus on completing the peace process and the writing of a new constitution, they need to work on the consensus politics rather than sitting on the opposition bench and trying to pull down the elected government for obstructing the peace process and the writing of a new constitution.
Unlike Madhav Nepal, Khanal is an elected member of the parliament. Nepalis can be proud of returning back to installing a democratically elected government. Legislators electing the man called Madhav Nepal defeated in the two constituencies as a prime minister have poisoned the political environment. Madhav Nepal has run the administration for 20 months doing nothing but grabbing everything possible. At the last moment, Mahdav Nepal has even attempted on opening the sealed treasury of the holy shrine Pashupati temple to grab anything possible in the name of safely depositing the treasures in banks and museums. Thanks to the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nepal on instructing Madhav Neal not to open the sealed bursary, the treasures have remained safe.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the election of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal ending the months of a political impasse. Secretary General Ban has congratulated the prime minister-elect and has reaffirmed the support of the UN for all efforts on completing the peace process and promulgating a new constitution by May 28, 2011.
