Thanks for finding time to write an article posted in nepalnews.com on the contemporary issue. Very few leaders have felt it. I have seen time to time some other leaders like Ramchandra Paudel, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai have tried to shed their understanding of the situation. Most of the later's are highly political, full of jargons and biased. Pradip Nepal's articles are light, extempore, idle talking and lacking depth.
First I would like to ask you how much you are aware of assessment of your own mistakes in past as a Nepali Congress leader and as a Minister on many occasions. Really the NC has let down its supporters and in general entire people and the country in its honeymooning in state machinery for more than a decade. There was a complete lack of commitment and full of dishonesty. Leaders were absorbed in self well-being and provided lip services to the people and the world.
You and Khumbahadur were opted and vying for the Home Ministry. Everybody knew the high expenditures in security heading during Maoist insurgency and was the attracting factor to influential leaders. Khum used to bargain with coterie of MPs as a bargaining tool in providing support to the government that was crucial for the survival of then governments for special ministries. You were always known as a close associate of PM Girijaprasad Koirala. Until you were let down by non-cooperation of then RNA in one of the Maoists cruelest attacks in Dunai, you resigned from the Home Ministry portfolio with tears in your eyes. When you were an education minister your role in granting permissions to various colleges were questionable and was a much talked about issue. Oh my God, the KGB (Khum/Govinda/Bijay) factor has been rumored to be surfacing again for the coveted Home Ministry.
The NC has given up its socialist doctrine embraced by late BP Koirala and left behind the plight and grievances of the poor. Socialism and democracy are two strong pillars of the BP doctrine. Both were flouted by GPK led NC to date. It tries to portray that democracy means freedom to speech, writing, demonstrations, strikes and giving votes to the same shameless sham leaders again and again with no accountability and transparency in their deeds. Socialism was gone with partnering with wealthiest and the most corrupted segments giving no relief and opportunity to the poor. This apathy also paved way for the Maoists to exploit the sentiments of the indigent and underprivileged. This abandoning of the causes of poor and downtrodden people is the major anomalies of GPK reign in the NC and national governments. One who forgets its bases is bound to go down sooner or later. It gave space to the crooked persons as a leader. The NC government not only returned property of then IGP who was serving jail sentence on the charges of smuggling and murder conspiracy but also nominated to the Upper House. That shows leniency towards criminals by NC and also raised eyebrows on financial irregularities by the NC leaders. Such an offense cannot be absolved ever. It shows only the trend like a tip of iceberg. Higher post appointments were characterized by brief case diplomacy.
The Nepali Congress was immersed in personal benefits and ignored its social, moral, political and national responsibility as the main political force. No visionary leaders emerged and no real visions whatsoever. It threw water on the people’s favor to the NC on each general election. Majority people are believers on democracy and that’s why they always gave votes to the NC whatever their performance by their governments in the past but it failed on each occasions to live up to the expectations of its people. Instead always botched its rise to the prime-ministership and wasted time on internal groupism, fights and personal gains. In second general election, people removed the NC from the previous majority position in the parliament and was mandated to stay as an opposition. It first accepted this verdict and allowed CPN-ULM to form the minority government. Then GPK’s foo garer dhalidinchhu statements came from Biratnagart suddenly after 9 months of new government led by late Manmohan Adhikary, one of the most revered and untainted PM of Nepal ever seen. Then started the dirtiest politics of buying or selling of the MPs for forming governments. The NC was not hesitant about flaunting people’s mandate to be an opposition party and came to the power again and again under various combinations and permutations. That was a political and moral wickedness, and a total shame being the largest party of the country.
I am not sure how much you are sincere about your own writing of this article because it is difficult to believe the leaders in Nepal like you. They say some thing and do other. Your statement "So, Congress has to stick to it democratic values and principles" is ambiguous as it has been like all manifestos, slogans and speeches. It is insufficient also. The blatant ignoring of the suffering of the people especially poor should be corrected unconditionally. Public pledge not to repeat past mistakes of corruption and personal gains, open self-criticism and acceptance of misdeeds in the past are ways of correction.
I wrote previously that PM GPK did not take mandate from the CWC or the Mahasamiti to chalk out the 12-point agreement with the Maoists in India. He was driven by the power hungriness as a disease. He was desperate to come back to his fond and prized Prime-Ministership, keen on giving an appropriate answer to the king, his strongest political rival and foe. This fondness and vengeance was realized by the playmakers and he was tricked into this worst political blunder by any Nepali top leader to date. He lost all his reasoning and presence of mind when bludgeoned by the king’s overtaking of the civilian government giving no hint of giving up and found lesser public support to overthrow king’s power.
Now all other episodes are spillover effects of this blunder, which require plethora of judicious and collective thinking and lot more repentance. There is no going back. Country is paying prices for the ambitions of PM GPK, king GS, Sujata, Prachanda, Dr. Baburam and Madhavkumar. This list is going up as the Terai leaders are mustering for another era of instability. Mostly all these can be seen as manifestations of their political ambitions at the expense of the national security, integrity, independence and prosperity. And, the people and our fragile international border continue to suffer more and more in the end. Thanks to our great leaders.
I don’t think you don’t understand these truths but you leaders are smart at equivocating to mislead the masses endlessly. But it is not sustainable now.
