Withdraw NC’s support to government; Dr. Shekhar Koirala

• N.P. Upadhyaya (Aryal)

The Nepali Congress which claims to be the oldest party of Nepal and takes itself as a democratic political paraphernalia, but in essence it isn’t. The manner this party exhibited its haste in extending its “vote of confidence” willingly to the incumbent Prime Minister Prachanda in Nepal’s newly formed Parliament speaks in a candid manner that the NC is isn’t a political entity that believes in a democratic system which necessarily demands the very presence of an “Opposition”.

Had the Indian regime hinted at the NC to extend a vote of confidence to Prachanda? However, the fact is that Nepal’s new Parliament has the mystifying absence of “opposition” which then makes the sitting government act in a dictatorial manner. The government then functions in an autocratic manner in the absence of an Opposition.

The concept of Opposition in a true democratic order is that as and when the “government” acts in an erratic and inconsistent manner and which later crushes the people’s aspirations, then it is the “opposition” which then creates political havoc inside the Parliament that forces or say compels the sitting government to correct its erratic and anti-people. In a way the Opposition bench in the Parliament is for “Check and balance” of the democratic order.

This is the beauty of a democratic structure. However, the NC committed a blunder of sorts which has violated the basic of established democratic principles. Better late than never, Dr. Shekhar Koirala has very freshly sounded his disapproval in having awarded a vote of confidence willy-nilly to the Prachanda led government.

Dr. Koirala now demands that his Nepali Congress Party take back its “vote of confidence” extended to Prachanda government a fortnight ago. At a party meeting, held early this week, Dr. Koirala bluntly said that the vote of confidence extended by the NC was a ‘wrong decision’. The meeting of the anti-establishment camp in the Nepali Congress held the other day concluded with the decision of withdrawing the party’s support to the government.

A high-class Physician Dr. Koirala is considered to represent the group that is against the “party’s establishment” controlled by NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba. Dr. Koirala is the next President of the Nepali Congress, it is talked about inside the party.

To recall, Dr. Koirala and his party colleagues’ en masse awarded confidence to Prachanda who is largely dubbed as Beijing’s man. The question thus is: why did Dr. Koirala initially vote in favor of Prachanda and now why Koirala prefers to take back his party’s support extended to a man who is taken as a Beijing hand by the entire Godi media (India)? Is it that Dr. Koirala in the meantime noticed that Prime Minister Prachanda has excessive Beijing bend? Or has the Indian regime hinted at Dr. Koirala to scrap the party’s support to Prachanda-the new Nepal Prime Minister?

Of late, the new Chinese Ambassador Chen Song too has activated himself and is meeting various political stalwarts who have a say in Nepali politics. No less is active the Indian envoy in Kathmandu who, observers say, is almost the new His Majesty the King of Nepal sent by Delhi to rule Nepal. His (Indian envoy) influence and penetration in Nepali politics has no match.

Will Dr. Koirala be able to convince his Party’s President Sher Bahadur Deuba to act as per his demands? The auxiliary question is also as to whether rest of the Party colleagues adds strength to Dr. Koirala’s fresh proposition. Yet another question then comes to our mind as to how the Indian regime will watch the entire events and how will it react to the outcome, if and when Dr. Koirala’s idea gets a thumping majority from his party?

All said and done, Dr. Koirala has set the ball rolling.  How Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba reacts to this “challenge” will have to be watched.