Coalition partners differ on so many political issues; a weakened movement now

January 21, 2004
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Kathmandu: The UML is all happy with its what it prefers to call a new formulae that would, if accepted by all contending forces including the Maoists and the Nepali monarchy, facilitate a solution to the present constitutional crisis.

Other UML partners in the coalition against what they call “regression”, have become suddenly suspect of the UML’s abrupt political overtures.

A feather in the UML’s cap has been hurriedly been added by the Maoists who have taken the Roadmap charted out by the UML as somewhat positive.

The Maoists’ fresh political overtures in favor of the so-called Map of the UML has come as a bolt from the blue to the already puzzled coalition partners who now see a sort of “design” in the framing of the map by the largest communist force in the country.

A beaming Madhav Nepal is making whirlwind tours to various districts in order to “popularize” his map among his voters and others alike. In the process he is getting derailed from his party’s and coalition’s standard line on how to take the movement against regression and view the slogans being chanted by the students in the streets against the monarchy.

To recall, the agitating students have been all out against the monarchy and been demanding republic for the country.

Look how Madhav Nepal says: ” We still believe that a sort of political consensus was necessary between the King, the parliamentary parties and the Maoists in order to get out of the present impasse. If the King loses time, he will have to repent”.

The same day in Ithari, a small town close to Dharan and Biratnagar Madhav says: “We don’t approve the students’ chanting slogans against the monarchy and that we still were in favor of constitutional monarchy”.

The fact is that his party affiliated students have gone out of his hands and been chanting slogans in favor of republicanism. Mr. Nepal says that those chanting such slogans did not belong to his party.

If Mr. Nepal’s utterances were to be believed, and we have reasons to believe, what is for sure is that his talks in Lucknow found some strikingly similar views at his tête-à-tête at Nagarjun and hence what could be certainly said that the roadmap prepared by the UML under the instructions of Madhav Nepal is the outcome of the latter’s secret parleys with Prachanda and King Gyanendra.

This has some political significance simply because the manner the Maoists have positively responded to UML’s roadmap does hint that a sort of understanding could have been reached in between the two “authorities” and hence the sudden and all-surprising roadmap.

To recall, the congress and the rest of the coalition partners excluding the UML have yet to bring their own set of versions to provide a direction to the country in order to clear the political mess that has gripped the country since 4th October 2002.

The fact is that the King has seven point agenda under his sleeves for the country which he has already pushed for the perusal of the political parties. The UML has come up with a nine-point roadmap for the country. The coalition partners currently in agitation have had their some eighteen point demands and that too in the name of the country. Add to this the Maoists forty point demands which they apparently have kept intact. All put together, we have seventy-four in all. What is common in them all is that all agenda pushed by various political establishment talks for the country. However, the ground reality is that nothing so far has come out that could be taken as to make its impact on arresting the country’s ever dwindling and extremely volatile situation.

These agenda coming as it does from various political quarters and that too in volumes have confused the people.

The UML’s leadership is so much enthusiastic of its new creation, read the map, that it has voluntarily sent signals to all interested quarters that if they wished any sort of reform or a kind of change in the basic structure of the map, the party could do so in the larger interest of the nation.

The congress under Girija Prasad has expressed its displeasure over the UML coming up with the map without consulting the coalition partners in advance. The congress believes that the map must not have come up on its own unless Madhav Nepal got some hint from certain quarter(s). Koirala naturally should some design in Madhav Nepal stealing the political show, which he could not.

A dissatisfied Koirala will in all probability encourage his band of students to “thwart” the UML design, analysts predict.

Narhari Acharya, a congress ideologue says that the UML’s roadmap since has come out of the blue and hence should be held suspect. He, however, says that it would have been better if the UML would have discussed the salient features of the controversial roadmap before making it public and making it a private party property. He then also says that since the map is there and hence discussion on the nitty-gritty’s of the map must be discussed in details.

Be that as it may, what is clear now is that the coalition partners stand divided on these counts: the roadmap devised by the UML; and on the issue of whether it was opportune moment to allow the students to chant slogans in favor of republicanism; and finally what to do with the King’s prescription?

While Koirala is against the roadmap and dismisses the King’s prescription and backs the students chanting slogans against the monarchy, Madhav Nepal not only clear about his roadmap but has also told it that his party would not subscribe to the view of republicanism.

Add to this, Comrade Rohit of the NMKP too apparently prefers to distance himself from the anti-monarchy slogans and the from the idea of republicanism at least for the time being.

The NSP might have its own grudge with the King but expectedly it would not irritate the King for obvious reasons.

All put together, Koirala appears to be the odd-man in the entire coalition.

This means that the UML, the congress and NMKP-the three parties in coalition differ on so many political counts.

Should this mean that the coalition against regression has weakened? The partners housed in the coalition beating their own drums?

Politics is for acquiring power. The UML has its own sort of politics to bounce to power but prefers to warn and not confront the King. The congress too is in the race under the tutelage of Koirala and is playing politics of confrontation with the King. The meager parties have become the tails of larger parties and been playing politics to join the government if formed by their larger political friends.

The RPP is a mess for the moment.