JN Khanal, Dahal's poodle?

When UK’s PM Tony Blair did almost everything that the American President George W Bush wanted, Blair received a nickname from the British public—"Bush’s Poodle". A dictionary describes a poodle as "an intelligent dog with a heavy curly solid-colored coat that is usually clipped." A dog almost always follows its master, does his/her bidding, and wags its tail in glee at the throw of a biscuit.

With Jhalanath Khanal’s ascension to the PM’s chair through a secret seven-point agreement with the Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, we’ve had the latest example of a politician throwing morality (if he had any) to the gutter. Further, as Dr Baburam Bhattarai once claimed, some in the United Marxist Leninist party (UML) have certainly behaved as "eunuchs". Pandering to his own ambition of attaining the PM’s chair, Khanal seems to have sold his soul to Dahal.

Khanal’s promotion to his poodle-status began a long time back. Remember his past, frequent, and servile pro-Maoist comments? A national daily says Khanal’s complicity in ousting his own party-comrade PM Madhav Kumar started a year ago. Dahal regarded Madhav Kumar’s government as India backed. Thus the Maoists assigned Barsha Man Pun, Janardan Sharma, Nanda Kishore Pun, Netra Bikram Chand, and Shankti Bahadur Basnet to deal with UML’s discontented lot: Yogesh Bhattarai, Ghanashyam Bhusal, Rajendra Gautam, and Bijaya Poudel. This team enabled Khanal and Dahal to meet often, and take the conspiracy forward. This background helps us understand Dahal and Khanal’s claim that a post-Madhav Nepal new government would come into being in two hours/two days, also the former PM’s mournful complaint that he didn’t get support from his own party members. Dahal’s assured backing encouraged Khanal to become more audacious to his predecessor.

After Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned seven months ago, things didn’t turn out as Dahal and Khanal expected. Both claimed they made "sacrifices" when they withdrew from a PM election they couldn’t win. Dahal and Khanal couldn’t care less about the result of their conspiracy which left a lame-duck, care-taking cabinet squandering the nation’s resources for half a year, delayed constitution writing, and brought development to a standstill.

Political history has many instances of impatient leaders ousting their predecessors, and then performing poorly themselves. UK’s Gordon Brown succeeded in deposing Tony Blair only to damage his Labour Party and lose the election. Indian political author Manisha (Profiles of Indian Prime Ministers) claims that in her country the plot to oust the incumbent PM starts the moment s/he takes the oath of office. In Nepali Congress’ history, we have had sorry tales of Matrika Prasad Koirala denigrating BP Koirala and vice versa, Girija Koirala’s back-stabbing of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and Sher Bahadur Deuba’s betrayal of Girija Koirala who repaid in the same coin. Bibek Kumar Shah chronicles in his book, Maile Dekheko Durbar ("The Palace I Saw"), Girija’s complaint that Deuba incited the former king Gyanendra to prevent the army attacking the Maoists, as Girija wanted. This brought about the latter’s resignation and Deuba’s ascent to the PM’s chair.

We have to give Khanal the benefit of doubt that he may satisfactorily integrate the Maoist army, give us the constitution on May 28, and conclude the peace process. However, he doesn’t have more than three ministers even after four weeks. This can lead to even more failure than his predecessor whom he deposed with Maoist help. If Dahal pulls the rug under his feet and Khanal ends up being a former PM soon, he has only himself to blame. He childishly trusted Dahal who changes his words from one day to the next.

Atheistic politicians deride God-given moral principles to their ruin. Some of these are: Those who use the sword perish by the sword, do unto others as you would have them do to you, you reap what you sow. The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Oli-Nepal faction of UML took a moral stand when they said the Maoists shouldn’t lead the government until they renounce violence, return confiscated property, and disband the Young Communist League (YCL), modeled after Chairman Mao’s Red Guards. Khanal has simply ignored the NC’s and some of his own party members’ moral principles.

Will our present PM end up as Dahal’s poodle? He doesn’t have to. Once seated firmly in the PM’s chair, Khanal too can outwit Dahal; and truly promote democracy. Whether he serves as Dahal’s poodle or makes history as a truly democratic PM depends on Khanal’s future moves.

In a recent speech to the nation, Khanal gave credit to the Maoists for coming thus far on the "democratic path". Half-true! His Maoist comrades haven’t renounced violence. Democracy and violence exclude each other. Khanal himself knows that the Maoists killed a UML cadre barely two months ago. Dr Baburam Bhattarai vows to continue using both the bullet and the ballot, and this mission-school trained academic hasn’t so far recanted that. Not long ago, Dahal claimed in a Himal Khabarpatrika interview that his party aims for a dictatorship of the proletariat (a one-party, perpetual Maoist rule like that of the North Korean Communist Party) no matter how long it takes. Last year, Dahal stated that 30,000 more could shed blood for his revolution. Rather than returning confiscated property, Dahal’s cadres have snatched away 300 bighas of land in Bardia in February. Pro-Maoist columnists simply ignore these excesses of their "saviors" and argue that Dahal should have the home ministry, which is like asking a cat to guard milk. Will Khanal confront Dahal on this land-confiscation issue? How many times has Dahal lied about disbanding the YCL? Can Khanal insist on its dissolution?

The new PM shares some of Dahal’s ideals. About two years ago, Khanal made a stunning statement—ultimately all communist parties have the ambition of capturing the state! Will he now, as Dahal’s poodle, allow the Maoist chairman to finally fulfill his ambition? As recently as on January 17, Dahal outlined his strategy on state-capture: Increase the YCL to 50,000, revive Maoist local governments, activate kangaroo courts, cause division in the Nepal Army and Police, and deal with "regressive" media people.

The secret seven-point agreement between Khanal and Dahal brings the Maoist leader one step closer to his aim, more so if the new PM allows keeping the so-called People’s Liberation Army intact as a separate unit. Then, Dahal can count on it to "revolt" at his will. When Dahal becomes the PM according to the rotation-scheme, Khanal provides himself as the stepping stone to Dahal’s dictatorship of the proletariat as Sher Bahadur Deuba was to Gyanendra’s imposition of his autocratic rule on Feb 1, 2005.

Europe discarded radical communism after 60 years of experiment, but Khanal and Dahal bet on it. They still think this failed philosophy will do miracles for our country. A Maoist dictatorship in our country can’t last. Look at Arab autocrats falling one by one. It will mainly waste time and lives. The Panchayat regime squandered 30 years. Dahal, Bhattarai, and their gang may do something similar. The Nepalis dream for a prosperous democracy will yet remain a mirage.

Will our present PM end up as Dahal’s poodle? He doesn’t have to. As Dahal initially dangled the "first president" carrot to GP Koirala only to kick the octogenarian in the teeth, the Maoist leader must have his own logic in getting his party to vote Khanal as the PM. Once seated firmly in the PM’s chair, Khanal too can outwit Dahal; and truly promote democracy. Whether he serves as Dahal’s poodle or makes history as a truly democratic PM depends on Khanal’s future moves.