After failing to persuade the main opposition party, Nepali Congress, and its coalition partner CPN-UML to help remove the army chief, the Maoist party has proposed a comprehensive review of the situation to move forward with a common view.
In a brief meeting with NC president Girija Prasad Koirala, the prime minister hinted that he was ready for a comprehensive deal to move forward.
“Since there are deep-rooted suspicions amongst us let´s have a meeting of senior leaders, outside Kathmandu if necessary, and try to settle all the contentious issues to rebuild our relationship,” NC vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel quoted the prime minister as saying.
The prime minister also said that the party leaders can take a couple of days if necessary to reach an agreement.
Did the prime minister use the phrase, “national government”? Apparently, he did not. “But the Maoists are ready for a national government that includes the NC,” a politburo member of the UML, who attended the meeting participated by NC, Maoist and UML leaders at Koirala´s residence, told myrepublica.com.
He even claimed that the Maoists have categorically told the UML that they are ready for a national government and are willing to give the defense ministry portfolio to the NC provided they agree to remove army chief Rookmangud Katawal.
NC refused to join the government the last time after Maoists refused to give them the defense portfolio.
In his view the only obstacle is that the Maoists want to remove the army chief before the NC joins the government. “But that may not be acceptable to the NC and that´s the problem.”
Why is the prime minister ready to sacrifice the defense portfolio to induct the NC into the government?
There may be multiple reasons. First, it will provide a way out of the army row that has raised the personal stakes for the prime minister. Second, he may have realized that governance and constitution writing will become easier if the NC joins the government.
Is the Nepali Congress willing to joint the Maoist-led government?
The meeting of the NC Central Working Committee this afternoon said the party would not join the Maoist-led government and it even decided to launch nationwide protests against Maoist ´authoritarianism´.
However, sources close to the NC president don´t rule out the possibility of the NC joining. “Koirala may have a personal interest in an NC contingent under the leadership of his daughter Sujata Koirala joining the government,” a senior NC leader said.
There is a foreign angle also. Indian leaders, during Koirala´s last visit to Delhi, had urged upon him that the NC should become a part of the national government, something Koirala conceded after his return to Kathmandu.
India, too, may have its interest here. It sees the NC as a balancing force, should it joint the government, against the Maoists´ possible tilt toward China, something India has been very concerned about lately.
But tough questions remain. How will the prime minister persuade Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa to step down to induct NC ministers into the Cabinet? How will the more radical camp in his party react to such a development and how will it impact on the prime minster´s control over the party?
Selling the idea of a national government to the NC leaders and cadres won´t be an easy job for Koirala either. The NC Central Working Committee has strongly opposed the idea since the beginning and there is no reason to believe that it will change its stance easily this time round either.
It will be even more difficult for Koirala to prepare the NC to join the government under the leadership of his daughter.
yuvraj@myrepublica.com
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