Glory days are over for Nepali Congress

[THT]

July 16 The Nepali Congress party has entered a new historical phase
with the loss of bargaining power for the coveted Presidency.

The party, which always had a monopoly in setting the country’s
agenda, is not comfortable with other’s leadership. It has also not
been very comfortable with democratic management of pluralism within
the party.

Conservative and royalist forces within the Nepali Congress blame that
the party’s slide into the “most humiliating position in history” is
due to Girija Prasad Koirala, Home Minister Krishna Sitaula and Dr
Shekhar Koirala. These three people are seen as leading the agenda of
working with the CPN (Maoist).

The conservative critics are evoking BP’s policy of reconciliation to
imply that the Nepali Congress should have continued to work with the
monarchy rather than siding with the Maoists.

The critics, however, have chosen to ignore BP’s spirit. BP’s policy
of national reconciliation was a genuine attempt to protect the
country’s sovereignty. It was a bold sacrifice by BP Koirala, who
wanted to protect the interests of the Nepali people during the Cold
War era. It was a necessity, not a choice.

If the NC is to regain any of its former glory and political
influence, it must be able to come up with a realistic interpretation
of recent history.

Read More: http://epaper.thehimalayantimes.com
Date: Jul 17, 2008 / Agenda