Nepal sells out
-Janadesh , 28 August
"Monarchy is necessary in Nepal. The Maoist demand of a republic, a constituent assembly and a republic are all detrimental to the nation." This is what Madhav Kumar Nepal and his party is now saying publicly. And people are taking these statements seriously. Political analysts say Nepal is going the Rayamajhi way, giving rise to a new nickname for the UML supremo, "the second Rayamajhi."
Sources say that at Siliguri Prachanda told Nepal that if the left forces were to unite, then it was possible to establish a republic in Nepal immediately. This could be either through the use of force or through the formation of a constituent assembly. Immediately after he returned from Siliguri, Nepal went to meet the king. He then stated that the monarchy was still needed in Nepal and that the call for a republic, a constituent assembly and an interim government were detrimental to nationhood. People suspect that Nepal told the king all that had happened in Siliguri.
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi is now the chief of the Privy Council. In 1960-61 he was the general secretary of what was then the Nepal Communist Party. He discarded the calls for a republic and publicly said that monarchy was needed in Nepal, which Puspa Lal and the other communists disagreed with. When Mahendra established a dictatorship, Rayamajhi welcomed it saying that it was in line with Marxist-Leninist principles. Rayamajhi said because the nation was in danger, what Mahendra did was in its best interest. Now Nepal, too, is saying the same things. Rayamajhi left the proletariat and moved towards the capitalists. In the same way, Nepal is leaving the poor and moving towards the capitalists. He has forgotten that organised and collective strength is the only protector of a country's independence and nationalism.
Gutless Maoists
-Budhabar, 29 August
Prachanda is the sort of person who at times can churn out four or five press releases a day. But he did not have one after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba presented his eight-point programme on 16 August. Why is Prachanda not speaking out now? It is over two weeks since he last issued a statement, and people are taking this as a sign that the Maoists have no agenda left.
The Maoists do not have the guts to support the radical land reform program announced in parliament, and they do not have the chutzpah to oppose it either. Now parliament is moving to bring about radical social change while the Maoists have been caught engaging in personal agendas and wish lists. Prachanda does not say a word about these radical social changes, but instead puts forward ideas about a republic, an interim government and a constituent assembly. Why is he doing this?
Since the Maoists do not have an agenda and cannot form a republic, it seems the Maoist leaders have become agitated and irresponsible and are indulging in character assassination. There is a vast difference between what they say and what they actually do. Their sloganeering about a republic will destroy this country and all that was achieved through the Jana Andolan. Clearly, their only aim is the formation of an interim government and a constituent assembly.
All parties that do not agree to its agenda are openly abused and their character is being questioned. It seems TN Pradhan (infamous for concocting conspiracy theories about the death of Madan Bhandari of the UML) has taken over their publicity department. In the recent meeting in Siliguri, the Maoists proposed a republic, but Madhav Kumar Nepal had pushed it aside stating that this was not the right time for that.How responsible are people who hide in India but want to establish a republic in Nepal? Janadesh, which is close to the Maoist party, says in its recent issue that Prachanda met Madhav Nepal in Siliguri recently. It further says Prachanda wanted left parties to unite to establish a republic. Madhav Nepal is said to have responded that this was impossible right now. The Maoists saw red and made public a fictitious meeting between Nepal and the king.
