I never used to be in any political party. Yes, now I have joined the NC after giving it a lot of thought. Today, communism is irrelevant. All communist parties have become democratic even though they seem ashamed to call themselves “democratic”. It was the NC that brought the Maoists into the mainstream. No one offered me anything to join the Congress, I did it out of my own free will because I believe it is the party that is that is least hypocritical and guarantees freedom of expression. If any NC leader offers me any position in government in future, I will reject it.
Yes politics is important, because it is politics that determines the country’s future. I don’t think non-Congress people should have any issues, since they have accepted BP Koirala who is a Congress literary figure.
I didn’t want to get into a Janajati party because I don’t think they have a future. I don’t want to narrow myself down to Janajati politics, I want the freedom of being involved in wider national dialogue.I agree with their demand for identity-based federalism, but am against federalism with just one identity. Nepal is a mosaic of ethnicity, we have all been living together. No one ethnic group is dominant anywhere. I identify closest with the NC’s policy on federalism.
I see some doubts about elections in November. But elections are necessary. I think the people will forgive the political parties and give them the chance to hold elections to write a new constitution. If there are elections the NC will be the largest party, there is no doubt about it. It is because of the failure of the parties that we have a technocrat government, this is just a temporary arrangement.
I admire Sushil Koirala’s selflessness and sacrifice for democracy. I also like Prachanda’s charisma and his oratorial skills, but his weakness is his lack of consistency. I wonder how many tongues he has. I think Madhav Kumar Nepal is clean but I don’t have a very high opinion of his capabilities. Baburam Bhattarai has the right intentions, but of late his reputation has taken a knock. Gyanendara looks like he wants a political role, but he brought himself and the monarchy down because of his own stupidity, but I think Kamal Thapa is clear-headed and consistent in his beliefs.