Kathmandu: Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has begun blowing hot and cold.

If he has on the one hand carrot for the King then he is apparently ready to take up the stick for the King concurrently.

Analyzing his Birganj speeches he made the other day wherein he possesses both for the King, what comes to thew fore is that he was ready for both: join hands with the King to crush the Maoists or for that matter join hands with the Maoists to press the King to yield to his and the agitating political parties’ demand.

President Koirala, therefore, appears all prepared for embracing both the diametrically opposed political stand in order to satisfy his political ego.

Speaking in Birganj Koirala ventilated his anger by saying what he had not said before, ” it was possible to ally with the Maoists”. In saying so Koirala appears determined to use this rather unusual political ploy in order to restore what he says the derailed constitution and the system in its original track.

However, there is one condition he has set for the Maoists. “Provided Prachanda keeps his words of not damaging the development infrastructure or murder unarmed security personnel”, is all what Koirala would wish to get from the Maoists rebellions prior to his shaking hands with them.

But then how the Maoists would react to Koirala’s harsh conditions will have to be watched.

However, the fact is that though Comrade Prachanda could have been serious in his fresh pronouncements of not harming the development basis of the country, the ground reality is that his words were not being either honored or taken for granted by the men he commands. This forces one to conclude that Prachanda has got to be much tougher vis-à-vis his own cadres at the grassroots or even prepared to ensure penal actions against all those who have been defying his orders made in all earnestness apparently.

To recall, comrade Prachanda in one of his fresh statements had appealed the agitating democratic parties not to distrust his political commitments for a multi-party competition.

It is perhaps in this context, president Koirala’s attention could have been drawn. For president Koirala, Prachanda’s commitments for a multi-party competition must have come as a bolt from the blue and hence he could have decided that Koirala-Prachanda friendship was possible. However, the would-be friendship in between the two diametrically opposing forces is not bereft with harsh conditions. If Prachanda assures the agitating political parties that he and his party might support their cause only after the Maoists mission is over. Koirala on the other pushes his condition by stating that he could bring in the support of the Maoists only if Prachanda keeps his promises made in the recent days.

For a lay man, neither of the two conditions appears feasible in the given scheme of things in the country. Neither Prachanda could win a battle with his opponent in Singh Durbar so easily as he expects it to be so, nor Koirala would shake hands with Prachanda until and unless the Maoists remain up to their freshly made promises of not destroying the infrastructures. Analysts predict that even if Prachanda is serious in his statements, his own cadres will defy his orders so that, time permitting, the rebels could negotiate with the government with the “position of strength”. Accepting Prachanda’s instructions would mean talking to the government with hands down.

Nevertheless, both appear to have compulsions to appease each other for obvious reasons.

But then what if Prachanda supports the agitating five? This is a question indeed that deserve deep analysis.

Firstly, the moment Maoists join hands with Commander Koirala, his agitation becomes weighty. In the process, violence could be predicted beforehand. The establishment presumably will retaliate fiercely and hence number of killings on both the sides will be considerable. However, what is for sure is that whosoever is killed will definitely be a Nepali by all means.

Secondly, if the violence goes out of control, the establishment might be prompted to invite foreign forces to quell the violence. This means foreign powers in the neighborhood might make it a ruse to establish a sort of their permanent station citing that any political turmoil in Nepal might threaten their own security concerns. Guess works only.

Thirdly, Nepal will surely be declared a failed state by the international community.

Coming back to Koirala’s statement that hints that he could join hands with the King as well. In effect Koirala says that it was time that the King and the democratic forces unite to sort out the issues confronting the nation. In saying so, Koirala is hinting at quelling the threats posed to the country by the Maoists. This again means that Koirala is also thinking on the lines on how to arrest the Maoists threats. Analysts say Koirala means that if the King supported their demands and restored the parliament and formed an all-party government, he will in turn help support the King to curb the threats of the Maoists.

How the Maoists take Koirala’s having both carrot and stick for the Maoists as well will have to be seriously watched.

Nevertheless, Koirala’s fresh statement made in Birganj does indicate that he is a frustrated man now who could lean to any side wherefrom he is assured of tangible support. Here again, how his own activists take up Koirala’s double standard talks will also have to be watched.