By merely belonging to the Koirala family, GP makes headlines of whatever he utters. Girijababu has a record that could do any politician proud. After the successful Jana Andolan II, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh hailed him as a great South-Asian leader. To democracy-loving Nepalis, GP turned a hero. To the wily Maoists, Girija became the “useful idiot”, whose butt they kicked after they manipulated him into advocating for a republic.
GP’s post-2006 popularity dwindled as quickly as it had risen. The Maoists wouldn’t make him the first president of the country. Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi didn’t even grant him a meeting when GP visited Delhi later. Meanwhile Pushpa Kamal Dahal warmed the PM’s seat in Kathmandu. Girija has fallen in the eyes of his country-people because of his undemocratic ways.
Maoists have quickly played on GP’s dynastic ambitions as with his previous one to become the first president. They dangled the presidential carrot in front of Girijababu; and then slapped his face red.
First, I cite his dictatorial manipulation of his party, the Nepali Congress (NC). Some call it the lack of internal democracy. As long as Girijababu lives, his word becomes the law for his NC subjects who can hardly whimper in complaint. GP can revoke the membership of a party worker just by a simple tongue-lash.
Recently, we witnessed two hopeful reforms taking place. The party actually elected Ram Chandra Paudel as its leader in the parliament. Previously, Girijababu claimed that post for himself; and wouldn’t entertain a rival. Then, his beloved daughter Sujata actually appeared in front of an NC parliamentary panel to explain her sudden “sickness” which she claimed prevented her from going to Delhi with the PM. Never mind that on the occasion she had a contingent of paid sycophants who chanted, “Sujata, we’ll give our lives for you!” The fact that Koirala’s daughter had to actually answer to others in the party gives us hope that NC can reform even when her old man looms in the background.
However, as far as possible, GP will ensure that the NC follows his undemocratic dictates. He has opposed efforts to bring in plural leadership in the party. Girija claims that during this “transitional period,” the party still needs his personal guidance. Thus, he has advocated the postponement of the party’s Mahasamiti (main committee) meeting, which may dent his own personal power.
Second, I would like to mention Koirala’s dynastic ambition. The nation evidently has gotten rid of the Gyanendra-Paras team only to be replaced by the Girija-Sujata one. (The Prachanda-Prakash plan is only hibernating at present.) Poor NC stalwarts can either look on in dismay or eventually support the old man’s dying wish. Most have succumbed to the latter, as Girijababu will ultimately have his own way. So, why even try to oppose him?
In spite of NC’s repeated denials and lies, the Nepali population knows that Sujata didn’t accompany the PM to Delhi because she didn’t get the post of the deputy prime minister. Premier Madhavji didn’t capitulate to GP’s pressure. That infuriated the octogenarian. The press on September 4 declared, “GPK Unhappy”, “Government Fate Hinges on Performance: Koirala”. Twice, NC ministers, obviously in support of a disappointed Sujata, didn’t appear in the oath-taking ceremony of their new counterparts. This sulk has pleased the Maoists, who blatantly and shamelessly aim to bring down this government. (Didn’t Dahal claim while in power that such a move was “unholy”?)
How has the government performed? Surprisingly well. In spite of the Maoist obstruction in the parliament, the skyrocketing prices, and the diarrhea-cholera epidemic in western Nepal, Madhav Kumar’s government did manage to get a few things done. It has reconstituted the Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of the Maoist Combatants. We now have a chairperson for the Constitutional Committee. Army chief Rookmangud Katawal went to his well-deserved retirement. Home Minister Bhim Rawal’s security plans have begun to bear fruit. Police have arrested Nepal Defence Army’s chieftain Ram Prasad Mainali, his henchmen, and Ranabir Sena’s top shots. Surendra Pandey’s third-party insurance provision for vehicles may cause less highway blockades. The government has begun raiding stores of unscrupulous shopkeepers who have hoarded goods to raise prices. Sujata’s visits to India and China have benefited our country with more aid promises. So, why should GKP become unhappy with the present government? The answer—Girijababu wants to see his daughter as the DPM now and the PM before he gives up the ghost.
A woman PM would make us swell with pride. We already boast of 33.2 percent ladies in the parliament, and this beats the record of many democratic countries. However, when we don’t have even the draft of the constitution written and languishing Maoists soldiers ticking like a gigantic time-bomb in cantonments, GP’s filial ambition sings the wrong tune at the wrong time.
The Maoists have quickly played on GP’s dynastic ambitions as with his previous one to become the first president. In the past, they dangled the presidential carrot in front of Girijababu; and then slapped his face red. They have attempted to do the same again through Barshaman Pun who has recently confirmed that the Maoists would accept a government even under Sujata Koirala. Once the Maoists manage to win over the NC, Sujata will end up as Dahal’s second fiddle and the NC their vassal, which was UML’s experience till four months ago.
Nepotism has always been a Koirala sin (though not limited to this family alone as the Maoists proved during their nine months rule) even from the 1950-1951 revolutionary days. For all his aura, BP too had this flaw. In his book (A Role in a Revolution), Matrika Prasad Koirala says that BP, without consulting anyone, appointed Keshav Prasad (KP) as the military governor after Biratnagar fell under the NC attack. KP’s “Koirala” surname helped! Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and others of the Indian Socialist Party, assisting the NC in the revolution, didn’t like it. Lohia remarked, “If Koiralas alone were fit persons to assume responsibilities, there should’ve been no efforts to usher in democracy in Nepal.”
GP Koirala has the reputation of pulling off the rug under parties/people he initially supports. Thus, UML fell after nine months when the latter formed the minority government after beating the NC in the 1994 mid-term election. Similarly, following the 1999 NC victory, GP put forward Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as the PM. Then, Girija brought two no-confidence motions against him in the parliament, and finally engineered Bhattarai’s downfall. Can we find a better example of high-handed treachery?
Girijababu can easily stab PM Madhav Kumar in the back and ally with Dahal to see Sujata as the DPM. However, such a move would bring more instability to the country; and cost NC many votes. A new government could take another three/four months to form. Then, the NC would probably have to accept a “People’s Republic” constitution suited to Maoist tastes. So, Nepalis’ desire for a real democracy would remain a mirage forever. Nepali Congress, beware of Girija’s ambition for his daughter!
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