Further Polarises Rival Groups

Nepali Congress (NC) central work execution committee meeting, held last week after almost one year, has drawn much political attention as the country is grappling with one  corruption scandal after another. Instead of uniting the rival factions, the meeting laid bare the deepening rifts between them over several burning issues. It has further polarised the party between establishment, led by president Sher Bahadur Deuba, and anti-establishment side steered by general secretary duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma. It also showed a crack between Thapa-Sharma group and another leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala faction. Koirala tried to project himself as neutral between the two camps but he has been blamed for hobnobbing with Deuba to get lucrative posts in the party as well as government.

The meeting was broadcast live via the party’s official Facebook page. This was the first time that any political party in Nepal screened its meeting publicly. President Deuba had proposed airing the gathering live to ensure greater transparency and accountability of the party. However, this democratic adventure suffered a blow when majority of central committee members defended their disgraced leader and former home minister Balkrishna Khand, who has been jailed for further investigation over his involvement in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. Thapa’s demand to relieve Khand of party’s duties was lost in the wilderness. Contrary to his expectation, Deuba’s loyalists roasted him for ‘indulging in a populist tactic’. 

Report on the backburner 

Deuba’s supporters comprise more than 80 per cent of the 157-member CC. At the meeting, they stood by Deuba, pushing Thapa and Sharma on the defensive. Satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, Deuba said that he had thought he would be a target of many CC members but fortunately that did not happen. However, mutual brickbats by factious leaders put the organisational report of general secretary Thapa on the backburner. He had presented one-year timetable on how to conduct the party and make its chaotic organisation systematic. The meeting had also set 10 agenda for discussion. Instead of debating it critically, some CC members claimed that the report would provide upper hand to the general secretaries. 

Deuba’s spouse and CC member Azru Rana Deuba said that Thapa’s report was like a ‘wishlist’ of a non-governmental organisation, stating that it lacked strategic plan for the task of building and governing the nation. Retorting to her, Thapa said that he had not collected experience working in NGOs but wanted to give hope to the people disappointed with the major political forces. Some CC members heavily came down on Thapa for his bid to unseat Deuba from the parliamentary party leader. The country’s oldest democratic party was supposed to review its political, economic and foreign policy at a time when the voters are switching to new political forces as seen in the last general elections. 

Ironically, many were taken aback when some NC stalwarts lamented that the NC as the largest constituent of ruling alliance could not protect Khand from being sent to jail. Senior leader Gopal Man Shrestha posed a question: “Why could the party not stop Khand from being sent to prison?” Party co-general secretary Mahendra Yadav claimed that Khand was framed by the state. Party publicity department head Min Bishwakarma said that when a member of the family is in trouble, another should come up to the rescue. He termed the accusation of organised crime levelled against Khand as dukha (misery) that deserves to be sympathised. The chorus in the support of a person indicted by a court has mocked the NC’s commitment to good governance and resolve to create a corruption-free society.

Undeterred, Thapa has registered a note of dissent at the meeting and submitted it to Deuba, demanding that the party should suspend any leader, cadre or party member who are under investigation and remanded in judicial custody on charge of their involvement in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. “They ought to be suspended from the party in a way a lawmaker is suspended from the parliament." He insisted that when a party leader is arrested on a serious offence, this should be his/her personal matter and should not be made the issue of the party. “No party has political or moral ground to protect party office-bearers against whom a case has been filed in court over criminal charge in accordance with the judicial system we have built.”

Achievement 

Meanwhile, unveiling its decisions following the meeting, the NC has emphasised to consolidate the present coalition to ensure political stability. While expressing satisfaction over the outcomes of three-tier polls held last year, it said: “The five-party alliance was formed to protect the achievements of all past movements, implement the constitution and promote rule of law.” However, the five-party alliance had broken up after CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda became Prime Minister with the backing of CPN-UML. Despite being the largest party in the parliament, the NC was out of power. This situation did not last long. The UML-led coalition also collapsed amidst intense political intrigues, enabling the NC to return to power again. The CC meeting has taken the replacement of the UML-led alliance by NC-led one as a big achievement. 

It has also expressed commitment to supporting anti-corruption moves including the action against those involved in fake Bhutanese refugee scam and Lalita Niwas land grab. It has put forth 15-point demand before the government and called for approving essential laws in the federal parliament. Although the factional feud overshadowed the burning issues of public concern, the meeting has enhanced inner-party democracy to some extent. The CC members must be mindful of the implications of their remarks which were broadcast live. 

 (The author is deputy executive editor of this daily.)