Himal Press 
A popular English proverb goes, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it too’. But the Nepali Congress did just that on Tuesday. It showed greed for power by giving a vote of confidence to CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who already had a comfortable majority. The NC leadership has demonstrated its desire for power by backing Dahal, who abandoned a coalition led by the NC to form a government with the UML.
The practice of the main opposition forming a shadow government is a beautiful aspect of parliamentary democracy. It is the duty of the opposition to keep an eye on the activities of the government. People are assured that there is a strong opposition to question the activities of the government. However, the NC’s most recent decision has eliminated the parliamentary opposition. That is why the NC’s decision is against the parliamentary practice. It has made the political culture of the party, which was criticized for its ineffective role as the opposition when UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was at the helm, further weaker.
NC leaders argue that they supported Dahal’s government to weaken UML Chairman Oli. It is a lame excuse, as such things do not happen in the parliamentary system. It only shows NC’s divided mentality. NC, which used to criticize UML as a ‘genderless’ party in the past, itself has now become identityless.
The NC’s decision has made a mockery of the ‘government in waiting’ practice in the parliamentary system. The party, which frequently claims to be a forerunner of democracy, has made a mockery of democratic values. But NC spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat is not ready to accept all this. According to him, it will be clear after some time why the NC is doing this. If the NC had forward-thinking leaders like him, what were they doing when Dahal abandoned the coalition and formed the government with the support of the UML?
NC also has another issue to ponder. What will it do if questions are raised against decisions taken by the Dahal-led government? Will it be held accountable for decisions taken by the government? Transparency and accountability are the basic tenets of democracy. What is the NC trying to negotiate by supporting the government, which already had a comfortable majority? Where is its accountability? If the NC backed Dahal on the orders of other forces, the party would gain a new identity – a party that could be used again and again. It would be even more frightening if the NC gave a confidence vote to Dahal just because he promised some positions to NC leaders close to Deuba. They will surely suffer the consequences of this decision, whatever their intentions may be.
Abusing power is the character of Nepali leaders. Dahal’s tone may look soft now. After a few months, he may not fulfill any of the commitments he made now or may focus only on his own and the party’s interests. What will NC do in that situation? How will it present itself in parliament? How will it make the government accountable for its deeds? No NC leader has the answer. What was the compulsion to support Dahal? What would have happened if it had abstained? What will the NC do if parties in the government work against the principles of democracy? What will leaders like Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ramchandra Poudel, who used to advocate on behalf of ordinary people, do if the government violates people’s fundamental rights? The NC leadership did not seem serious about such questions that may arise in the future.
Even the party’s young leaders appear to have supported the leadership’s bad decision. They should have rebelled against the party leadership. But they showed no courage.
The ruling party and its leaders have their own agenda and interests. Democracy is a system in which the opposition questions the activities of the government. That is exactly what parties in parliament have been doing. But the NC took a strange decision. The act has raised questions not only about the NC but also about the country’s democratic system. The NC itself has created an environment in which the ruling parties can abuse the law and the constitution.
Even the party’s young leaders appear to have supported the leadership’s bad decision. They should have rebelled against the party leadership. But they showed no courage. On the contrary, there have been talks about some party leaders getting important posts. Though NC leader Ram Chandra Paudel has said that the party voted to protect the constitution, it is clear that he is more concerned about his interests.
In the parliamentary system, the ruling party is always afraid of the opposition party. An example from India is relevant here. When the Congress party suffered a heavy defeat in India, Nehru exercised the role of opposition by monitoring the government’s activities from within his party. He pointed out its mistakes through letters. The biggest democracy in the world has come to this stage through such practices.
It cannot be said that Dahal will run the government in his way by plotting two large parties against each other. The constitution also does not allow the prime minister to dissolve parliament as long as the last option to form a government remains. Therefore, it is certain that the country will have to bear the consequences of the NC leadership’s short-sighted decision for a long time.
The young leaders of NC have a big responsibility before them. That is to bring the party leadership back on track and give the party a new lease of life. NC has a proud history of playing a leading role in every political change in the country. But there is no indication that the current leadership will take such responsibility. The youth leaders will have to pay a heavy price in the future if they continue to support the vested interests of some leaders by remaining mute spectators to all the injustice and malpractice. Only if leaders of the younger generation can play an interventionist role will the NC move in the right direction. In both the 14th general convention and the elections of all three levels, people have shown great confidence in young leaders. Now, these young leaders will have to correct the mistakes of the party leadership and stop the party from deviating from the value of democracy and the parliamentary system.
