DEVAKI BISTA
The UML will vote for its parliamentary party leader on Tuesday. The night before, senior leader Madhav Nepal proposed Chairman Jhal Nath Khanal for the job while Deputy Chairman Bamdev Gautam put forward KPS Oli as a candidate. As talks became more and more inconclusive, the following dialogue ensued at party headquarters in Balkhu:
Madhav Kumar Nepal: We mustn’t forget party tradition. Relegating the chairman to the sidelines and making someone else lead the parliamentary panel is completely unthinkable. We must show everyone that we are united by voting for Khanal.
KPS Oli: What a turnaround. Didn’t you call me at your house right after CA elections and told me that Khanal was a hapless leader. You even said there would be more anarchy under Khanal, that the party’s parliamentary panel broke down spectacularly last time, and that he didn’t even make you his deputy even though you backed him.
Nepal: When did I say that? You come here and lie? How can you spread such lies at a party meeting?
Oli: You seem to have forgotten that I wasn’t alone at your house during the meeting. Bamdev was there and so was Ishwar Pokhrel.
Bamdev Gautam: That’s right. You called us saying Khanal would come later, but you had never invited him in the first place. Pokhrel even asked you if you wanted to lead. You shrugged it off, saying no, but then again stated that the chairman wasn’t good enough.
Nepal: You can’t make things up like this. We could find ourselves in a precarious situation if one of us leads the house and someone other than Chairman Khanal becomes the prime minister.
Oli: How many rules do you have in your pocket? Do you have a book of examples that you carry everywhere to come up with replies when you want things to go your way? You did not lead the parliamentary panel in CA-I, but that didn’t stop you from becoming prime minister.
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