Kathmandu: In his desperate bid to bag sympathies of the lay men and the congress activists both in his favor, the sinking horse of the congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, organized a press conference whose sole aim, said those who attended the meeting last week, had been apparently to ” pinpoint” only the wrong doings of his bete noir-Prime Minister and the President-aspirant of the congress party-G.P.Koirala.
The appeal that was distributed among the media men by Deuba contained nothing but the formers’ arrogance that if he assumed the congress presidency, all the ailments that have gripped the party and the nation would vanish.
“That was Deuba’s cry in the wilderness”, commented a Koiralaite when asked to offer his exclusive views regarding Deuba’s outburst against Koirala made last week at the media gathering.
The fact is that Deuba by this time fully has understood that his defeat is a certainty at Pokhara.
The fresh shock to him has come from Khum Bahadur Khadka whose actions of late have become like, say congressmen, a chameleon that could change colors suiting to the need of the time.
In essence, Khadka on whom Deuba trusted to the hilt has apparently hinted the latter’s rival that “if some of his demands” were met with prior to the convention, he will side with Koirala.
Khadka is talked to possess ten parliamentarians in his pocket and this number could change the balance at time of the no confidence motion against Koirala. The idea of pushing the motion is still in its embryonic stage considering the delay seen in moving the motion in the parliament. Albeit, the propaganda is there.
If Koirala yields to the demands put forth by Khadka that would mean a political harakiri for Deuba.
Significantly, the key man, Khadka, has also hinted Deuba that if he is elected President at Pokhara, the premiership should go to him as a reward for the support extended to him that is Deuba.
It is this “tough” bargain that has apparently made Deuba nervous.
Now every thing depends on the mood and the character of Khadka whose prestige has touched a new height in the recent days.
In order to make Koirala and Deuba more and more nervous and force them to come to his terms, Khadka is supposed to have vanished to unknown destination. Some say he is in Pokhara to look at the convention preparations.
However, Khadka continues to console Deuba that he was with him.
Telegraph adds:Flash news
In a sudden move this Thursday, Deuba and his supporters totaling 56 NC parliamentarians moved a motion at the party’s parliamentary committee against Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
This sudden move has surprised many a brains here because the move has come at a time when the entire nation is reeling under the shadow of a major upheaval, which is likely to gulp the nation. The Hritik Roshan episode as of Friday morning though apparently has subsided but yet its undercurrents could be felt in other parts of the nation.
Wednesday saw Kathmandu remaining tense with the likelihood of a curfew being imposed during the evening to avert any untoward incident during the night. However, the government opted not to impose. Eyewitnesses said that it reminded the people of the last days of the 1990 movement.
There was a rumor also on Wednesday that Girija Prasad Koirala will ask King Birendra to invoke emergency in the country. This did not happen, fortunately.
Amidst tight security, the Prime Minister greeted King Birendra at Singh Durbar Thursday afternoon to mark the constitutional monarch’s birthday. The Kathmandu based Ambassadors were offered security escorts up to the venue of the reception hosted by Koirala. Many invitees preferred to remain in their homes for obvious reasons.
The Hritik Roshan episode has taken a new turn. Deuba appears to have utilised the unstable situation prevailing in the country as it continues today, to take revenge from his declared bete noir Koirala. Though some of the signatories have denied having put their signatures in “’remove Koirala campaign”, Deuba remains confident that this round he would be able to unseat Koirala from the Chair. The move needs fifteen days to mature for a discussion.
Till today, Khum Bahadur Khadka is with Deuba. If he changes his side would mean that the balance has gone in to Koirala’s favor.
A horse trading of sort has already begun as usual in the congress camp. Koirala quarters remain confident that the Deuba move will go to the dogs.
The country has undoubtedly become unstable prone to any sort of threat to the existence of the system itself. Congress has contributed to bring in this chaotic situation. Add to this the chaos brought about by Roshan’s alleged derogatory remarks and the subsequent violent strikes in the country that has already cost some precious innocent lives.
Hritik Roshan in the mean time has repeatedly denied his derogatory remarks made against the country and the people. So far none of the organizations in Nepal have been able to produce the visual cassette which could prove that Roshan did commit this Himalayan blunder. Nepali national sentiments are at its peak at the moment. All the Indian TV channels have been close sine die by the cable operators for fear of any untoward incident.
This is for the fourth time that Indian actors have passed on derogatory remarks on Nepal and her people. Actress Nanda insulted the Nepalese in the 60s later to be followed by Dharmendra. Then came Madhuri Dixit who fortunately apologized. And finally it is Hritik Roshan who hurled insulting remarks on Nepal and its people. This round, the consequences were rather heavy in terms of the damage of life and property.
The nine left parties too have joined in the Nepal closure scheme. They too have called for a Nepal Bundh next Monday and Tuesday.