Democracy For Nepal: Jhala Nath Khanal

Showing posts with label Jhala Nath Khanal. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

बेलुर्रा प्रधान मंत्री एखुन टा

देउबा बेलुर्रा

ओली बेलुर्रा

पुष्पकमल

माधव

झारलझुरळ झल

बबुवा राम

सब बेलुर्रा

कांग्रेस पार्टी के भितर गठबन्धने नइ

पार्टी पार्टी के बीच कइसन गठबन्धन?

९५% जनता के चिन्ता न

१% जमीन के चिन्ता?

उ कइसन "राष्ट्रवाद?"

कोन लिपुलेक?

आर्थिक क्रान्ति कहलक

सब अपन अपन आर्थिक क्रान्ति क लेलक

इ कइसन नेतगिरी?

बैलट पर मारि मारि भगाउ सबके

अबिके बार सिर्फ और सिर्फ

हॉर्न छाप

Thursday, February 06, 2014

A Unified Communist Party Would Be A Good Thing

English: leader of CPN UML (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ओलीले भने, ‘अब एमाओवादीसँग पार्टी एकीकरण’

Baburam Bhattarai first brought this up. Now KP Oli is saying this. I think the communist parties coming together would be a good thing, just like the Madhesi parties coming together would be a good thing. Perhaps Ashok Rai can be part of that unification of the Madhesi parties. And we end up with three poles in national politics. That will be a tidier situation.

It would be good to have a simple party name: Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Step By Step

Step 1 is to realize the constituent assembly is not coming back. It is not coming back for further work on the constitution and it is not coming back to amend the interim constitution. All election related amendments will have to be the act of the president.

But the president is not an executive president, and so a government acceptable to all major parties will have to be put into place first. Do it like they did it in Bangladesh. Put together a government of non political people. Maybe this is the chance for the civil society to shine. Step 2, set up a new government of all non political people.

Step 3, let that government pass on election related ordinances to the president who would sign them to make elections possible in April 2013. Chances are the new assembly is smaller in size. Maybe it is 300 and not 600 strong.

Nepali parties inch back to poll option NC president Sushil Koirala and UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal have categorically rejected the CA revival option. A group of former Supreme Court Chief Justices warned the Prime Minister that CA revival to promulgate the statute would be unconstitutional. President Ram Baran Yadav too has spoken in favour of fresh polls.
Nepal’s president pushes for elections revival of the Constituent Assembly (CA) could not happen ‘under any circumstances’..... “The political parties have no alternative but to go for elections as per the spirit of the interim constitution and the verdict of the Supreme Court.”
Ruling UCPN (M), Morcha strike CA elections accord
SLMM to take final call on CA rebirth
CA rebirth not possible, former CJs tell PM
CA revival not possible: Prez Yadav
Dahal floats new proposal before Prez

The Supreme Court will not let the reinstated CA work
With leaders sticking to differing views, no solution in sight
Grab the offer
Dahal now for fresh CA poll cum poll for prez
Madhesi, ethnic leaders urge prez to work for consensus
Plot to bypass UML will not succeed: Nepal

Monday, August 31, 2009

The UML Could Split

Image via Wikipedia

The UML is gearing for a split, it seems like. That is the impression I get.

Khanal and Oli show no signs of relenting. Both are gungho on their respective stands. And once the ball is set in motion, it is hard to stop it.

A split in the UML will lead to a certain fall of the Madhav Nepal government.

Increasing lawlessness in the country, political paralysis, Maoist intransigence: Nepal's peace process is going through a delicate phase right now.

My position is that we need to move towards a national unity, all party government.

Khanal, Oli factions hold parallel meets Republica

	UML under discipline crisis: Gyawali
	No constitution sans Maoists in govt: Gautam
	Rift in UML
	Oli fires back at Khanal
	Rift within UML deepening

Yadav praises Jha, flays SC Maoists ask him to resign
Gachchhadar could quit post to allow Maoists in govt “It was me who toppled the government after the Maoists began unnecessary debate on the army,” he said.
UML under discipline crisis: Gyawali

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Upendra Yadav's Options

Prachanda's Mistake

The issue has not been if Katuwal is a good guy or a bad guy. (Gurung Not Katawal For Army Chief August 2006)
The issue has not been if he should be sacked.
Prachanda messed up on the procedure.
He had to get all his coalition partners to agree. He did not do that.
After all his coalition partners had agreed, he needed to send his decision to the president. He bypassed the president. He messed up again.
The president then would have had the option to send the decision back to the cabinet for reconsideration.
The cabinet would have had the option then to send it back to the president. At that point the president would have had no option but to send the decision to the army chief.
Thereby the Army Chief would have been duly sacked.

Prachanda's Continued Mistake

Then prime minister Prachanda did what he did.
The president did what he did.
The president's decision has been challenged in court.
The parliament, Prachanda and Madhav Nepal should give the court space.
Rule of law asks for that.

The Court's Mistake

The Supreme Court needed to decide right away if the president's move was unconstitutional or not as alleged.
My understanding is the president's move was legitimate. It was the prime minister who bypassed due process in two major ways.
But it is for the Supreme Court to make that announcement.

Madhav Nepal's Mistakes

Madhav Nepal waited for his own party to decide which members of the UML will participate in the government. He extended that same courtesy to the Nepali Congress, to the TMLP, and the SP. Because that is how it gets done in parliamentary democracy.
But he went ahead and appointed Bijay Gachhedar to his cabinet without waiting for the MJF to officially send a list of people to join the cabinet. The MJF had already decided to participate in the government with both Yadav and Gachhedar holding major cabinet portfolios.
What Madhav Nepal did was against the basic norms of parliamentary democracy.
Madhav Nepal has proven there is as much danger to democracy in the country from Madhav Nepal as there might be from Prachanda.
Madhav Nepal made another big mistake.
He withdrew Prachanda's decision to sack Katuwal. That decision by Prachanda was under due consideration by the Supreme Court. A Prime Minister can not thus overrule the Supreme Court. It has been for the Supreme Court to decide on Prachanda's decision.

The Current Coalition's Big Political Mistakes

To promote the army guy who was behind Dhoramba has been a major political mistake. (Militarists, Maoists, Monotones, Dorambaites, Naxalites October 2005)
It feels like the regressives have taken over power in Nepal.

Upendra Yadav's Options

Perhaps Upendra Yadav's original sin was to bring into the MJF the corrupt Congress faces like Bijay Gachhedar and Sharad Singh Bhandari.
Or his second mistake was to not himself have become the parliamentary party leader after the April 2008 election.
His continued mistake might have been that his leadership style has not been as consultative as it should be. (The MJF Must Stay Intact, Putting The MJF Fire Out, MJF: Is Reconciliation Possible?, The MJF Drama)
Whether by naked Indian embassy intervention (and the Pahadis think Madhesis are Indians!) or by simply buying out MPs and central committee members or by happily playing into the hands of the Pahadi ruling class or all of the above, Bijay Gachhedar has proven he is capable of bringing about a vertical split in the MJF.
It is for Upendra Yadav to decide if it makes sense to seek reconciliation with Gachhedar or to go his separate way.
At this juncture to seek reconciliation would be to say, okay Jhala Nath Khanal is UML president, but he is not in the cabinet, Girija is NC president, but he is not in the cabinet, neither Mahanth Thakur nor Hridayesh Tripathy are in the cabinet. And so Upendra Yadav is also going to stay out of the cabinet for now and instead seek party unity.
This might be Upendra Yadav's best option. He should lose this small battle to later win the war.
After reunifying the party then Upendra Yadav should work with Prachanda for the formation of an all party national unity government and bring it about in a few months' time.
In politics six months are a long, long time.
Keeping the party intact at any cost might be Upendra Yadav's best option at this point.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Time To Rally Around Madhav Nepal

Prachanda was in India for most of the duration of the civil war he ignited, and now he wants you to believe India is an evil country. That is hypocritical.
Prachanda's coalition partners did not walk away from him because India pressured them to. They walked away because of Prachanda's bad behavior.
Only if all his coalition partners would have agreed to the decision to sack Katuwal would that have counted as cabinet decision. There was no longer a cabinet left. There was no cabinet decision to sack Katuwal. There was only a Prachanda decision to sack Katuwal.
Prachanda bypassed the president. Informing on the phone does not count.
Prachanda bypassed the president. Why? Because the president is a Madhesi?
Krishna Sitoula gave crores to the Maoists. That was election money to the Maoists.
The Maoists want to declare 7,000 martyrs. That is not intended to be an act of respect. That is election money for next year. That can not be allowed.
Prachanda never meant for Upendra Yadav to become Prime Minister, although he did make the offer.
Prachanda never meant for Koirala to become Prime Minister again, although he did make the offer.
With those two offers all Prachanda was trying to do was prevent a coalition from building around Madhav Nepal.
The UML-NC-MJF-TMDP-SP government agreeing to the eight point agreement with the United Democratic Madhesi Front is the best deal the MJF can get under the circumstances. A party with 55 out of the 601 MPs can not hope to get the Prime Ministership, especially when the offer was never honestly made by the Maoists.
The Maoists continue to have a one party mentality.
After you have already filed a complaint against the president's move with the Supreme Court, why are you still holding street protests? Wait for the court to give its verdict.
Why obstruct the parliament? Because you don't have a majority? That is a one party state mentality.
The Maoist gameplan has been to declare 7,000 martyrs, and get hundreds of crores of rupees for the party in the process to go get a majority on their own in next year's election. If they have been acting like a one party state when they are but one third of the presence in the parliament, imagine what after they would get a simple majority or, god forbid, a 60% majority? That prospect can not be imagined.
K.P. Oli would be a great Home Minister at this point. The state has to counter all unlawful uses of force by organizations like the YCL. No compromise. Period.
Upendra Yadav should continue being Foreign Minister. Now that his party is an even bigger proportion of the coaltion, he should ask for a few more berths for his party in the cabinet. The MJF must become an active member of the new coalition government. Staying outside is not an option.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front should be given new life through this new coalition government. Stop saying Ek Madhesh, Ek Pradesh. Start saying Ek Terai, Ek Rajya. The word Terai is inclusive of the Madhesis, the Tharus, the Pahadi origin Teraiwasis, everybody.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

A Minority Government Is Possible

Image via Wikipedia

Prime Minister Upendra Yadav?

The Maoists are on one side, the NC-UML is on the other side, and there is no sign the two forces will meet, whereas the MJF stands in the happy middle. And the country needs a new government fast. And we are scheduled to have elections for a new parliament in a year or so. So whichever government takes shape will but last a year.

How about this? The Maoists invite Upendra Yadav to be Prime Minister, Yadav takes the three Madhesi parties into power with him to form a three party government. The Maoists do not participate, but support the government from outside, kind of like Chandrashekhar and the Congress in India back in the days.

In return Prime Minister Upendra Yadav sacks Katuwal. A unanimous cabinet decision to that effect gets taken and sent to the president. The president will have the option to return the decision back to the cabinet for reconsideration. The cabinet will send it back to the president. At that point the president will have no option but to send the decision over to the army, and Katuwal would be sacked.

That minority government will have the option to take its decision to sack Katuwal to the parliament where the proposal would pass with Maoist support. That might be the best way to sack Katuwal, through a parliamentary majority.

I do feel there is a need to prove there is civilian supremacy over the military.

In The News

MJF divided over new govt Himalayan Times
Prachanda criticises parties
Maoists seize 25 bighas in Bara
MJF meet inconclusive
NC backs MK Nepal as next PM
MJF throws its weight behind UML
FM Bhattarai falls ill
Abnormal normality Nepali Times The country seems to run better without a government
Maoists tricked UNMIN
Second chance However much Dahal's party may try to explain away the tape the fact is that he has admitted deceiving the UN and everyone else on guerilla numbers and about his commitment to the democratic process. ....A consensus national government would be the only one that can address those daunting challenges.
Yadav vs Dahal the Nepal Army has two chiefs, the president is behaving like a chief executive ...... The arithmetic of the CA is such that even if a government were to be formed without the Maoists, it would last only as long as Pushpa Kamal Dahal wishes.
No one won The Maoists saw the entire process, and the polls, as a tactical victory on way to total state control. ..... the generals feel they have won a huge victory and will be even less amenable to civilian control. ....... UML and MJF think this is their chance to lead the government. And NC is already thrilled at the windfall from ministries it will get to control. ...... The UML is hoping to get rewarded for foiling Maoist plans on army. The NC is happy to see the left take on the ultra-left. Other key players feel that the Maoists have got a bloody nose and should be kept out in the opposition ...... the Maoists are back in the game to form the government. The resources and patronage dispensation opportunities are just too tempting. They have told Upendra Yadav, finally back from his holiday, that they may possibly back him as PM while retaining control from outside. ........ Lack of progress on integration will split the Maoist leadership and weaken them. ...... PKD should use this moment of enormous popularity within the party to drive home the need for consensus. The other parties would do themselves a great favour by not letting fear and insecurity dictate all their actions.
UML claims stake over new consensual govt leadership Kantipur
No new govt in Nepal yet
“Resignation missile against foreign brokers, surrenderers”
President will be forced to resign: Minister Sharma
‘One Madhes’ key to MJF for new govt run Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) on Saturday decided to lend support to that party which supports its 'One Madhesh, One Province' demand....... the MJF stressed on the national consensus government including the Unified CPN (Maoist). .... The party has also urged the Maoists not to obstruct the Legislature-Parliament.
Maoist politburo decides not to let govt form till Prez move rectified
MJF discussing the best ally option
Anti-prez protests continue
PLA integration only after we have upper hand: Dahal
(Updated with video excerpts) Republica
'Suspicious people' held for leaking footage of Maoist Chairman
UCPN (Maoist) vow to block government formation
MPRF sets ´autonomous Madhes´ as precondition for its support
UML seeks support for govt formation
Dahal vents ire on parties, terms them foreign agents
UNMIN concerned over Shaktikhor tapes

K.P. Oli

Video: KP Oli 1
Video: KP Oli 2
Video: KP Oli 3

UML-led govt has no alternative, claims Oli NepalNews the past nine months reflected the failure of the Maoist to lead government........ Oli had served as the home minister in Nepal's first communist government of his party some 15 years ago ...... Oli, a staunch critic of Maoists, said his party is ready to go ahead for majority government if the Maoists do not show willingness for consensus government and warned to take strong measures if the Maoists continued to obstruct the parliament sessions. ...... He also blamed the Maoists for the instability in the country, claiming the government failed to respect the rule of law.

You can't let the Maoists decide if a majority government is possible or not. Of course it is possible. Because the constitution says so. Maybe it is time to call the Maoists' bluff. Oli perhaps has the right temperament. He is staunchly anti-Maoist. Jhala Nath Khanal might be too much of a Maoist appeaser to be any good for these times. Madhav Nepal also is not sufficiently anti-Maoist. Oli also has the advantage of having run both the Home and Foreign ministries. He has a major presence in his party's central committee.

The country perhaps needs someone who will teach the Maoists that use of force by the YCL is not an option.

But right now we don't even have a majority coalition in place. Got to get that first.

The idea of the Maoists leading yet another coalition government is ridiculous. They already tried and failed. They still don't see how Prachanda's bypassing all of his coalition partners on the Katuwal issue was not a legitimate step.

Now is the time perhaps for a UML-NC-MJF-TMDP-SP government.

In The News

Deadline to form new govt is over; consensus eludes parties NepalNews The NC, projecting Madhav Kumar Nepal as new prime minister and handing over responsibility to UML for garnering support from other parties, has failed to give any substantial decision thereafter. ..... Jhala Nath Khanal-led establishment of the party is not willing to name senior leader Nepal as the new PM .... The fourth largest party, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, is giving confusing signals on government formation. Terai based parties are likely to based their stand in line with MJF that has said whichever party supports the Madhesi agendas would get its backing. ...... the government cannot be formed without the House functioning
Old parties are trying to buy CA members: PM Dahal Saying that his party, Unified CPN (Maoist), was ready for big sacrifice in order to restore civilian supremacy in the country, Dahal said the parties that identify themselves as democrats have thrown their weight behind the army chief who challenged civilian supremacy. He described his resignation as a salvo against the foreign intervention and political betrayers and warned of strong protest movement against "brokers and betrayers"....... the ongoing attempts of other parties to form new government exclusive of Maoists are the outcome of defeated mentality
MJF still undecided over new govt He said their priority is for an all-party government ..... a three-member committee under the leadership of Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta to discuss with parties on the formation of the government and forge alliance with other Madhesi parties ..... When asked if his party is going stake claim for prime minister, Yadav said they don't claim but will not reject if circumstances 'compelled' them to accept it. He also said whichever party supports the demands of Terai based parties would get MJF's backing. ..... The party has criticised both Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and President Dr Ram Baran Yadav for their moves saying both are responsible for creating current political uncertainties. ..... PM's move was a challenge to politics of consensus while the President's order to army chief to stay put was unconstitutional. ..... coalitions that existed earlier have lost their meaning and that there is need to work out for new coalitions and called for all-party committee to sort out the political deadlock
UML-led govt has no alternative, claims Oli
Export of Nepali manpower 'growing'

Deadlock in Nepal, Madhesi parties hold key to new government

How can Nepal´s President CORRECT his Unconstitutional Veto?

Friday, May 08, 2009

The President Should Declare An Emergency

Phone Marathon II (2005)
Phone Marathon: Called Up Delhi (2005)

If the parliament will not bring forth a new government - either a majority government or an all party government - by the deadline - tomorrow - there will be but one option left: presidential rule. The president will have to go ahead and declare an emergency.

The emergency rule would last six months.
No political leader would be arrested.
Freedom of speech will stay intact.
Right to peaceful assembly will stay intact.
After six months the parliament will have the option again to bring forth either a majority government or an all party government.

Three Big Advantages

The president gets to run the country. He need not assemble his cabinet from inside the parliament. He can assemble a team of technocrats.
The political parties and the parliament get to work on a new constitution, which is what they were elected to do in the first place.
The country gets a taste of an executive presidency which is what we should shoot for in a new constitution. We don't need a new government every year. We want a directly elected president who stays in power for four years.

In The News

UML CC meet begins; leadership divided over formation of new govt NepalNews
NA refutes media reports
Sushil wants re-verification of Maoist combatants
'Woman should lead new govt'
New govt unlikely within given time
Envoys call on PM, Koirala
PM's address to the nation (May 04 09)

MJF not to claim for PM
Maoist politburo for more protests to revert President's move
Prez consults CA chairman on procedure of appointing new PM

Nepal's Maoist double-cross

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Prachanda Messed Up

The right way to sack Katuwal would have been this.

Get all parties in power to agree to the idea. But if they don't agree to it, then don't go for it.
But if all parties in power would have agreed to it, Prachanda still needed to send that decision to the president.
The president then would have had the option to send the decision back to the cabinet for reconsideration.
The cabinet - with all party agreement - could then have sent it back to the president all over again saying they still stand by it.
At that point the president would have had no option but to forward the letter to the army chief who would then have been duly sacked.

Prachanda's Two Big Mistakes

He did not seek the consensus of his coalition partners.
He did not go through the president. He bypassed the president.

Who Apologizes?

President Yadav has nothing to apologize for. His job is to protect the constitution, and he did that.
Prachanda already apologized by resigning. So there is no need for him to apologize again.

What next?

Form a new government.
That can be an all party government, or it can be a simple majority government.
Having a simple majority government does not mean we will then automatically lack the two thirds majority needed for work on the new constitution.
Writing a new constitution is separate from running a government.

Who Will Lead?

Technically speaking Prachanda can lead again. Technically speaking Baburam can lead. But politically speaking it makes no sense for the Maoists to lead. They already tried and failed.
A new leader from a new party needs to come forth. I see a consensus building around the Madhav Nepal name.
The Maoists will have the option to join that government or support it from outside.
The UML, the NC, the MJF, the TMDP, and the SP must be part of the new government.
The UML should lead. The Maoists have the option to join or not.

First Priority: Law And Order

The new government is going to have to domesticate the YCL. That organization may not engage in use of force. Period.
The Maoists have a right to peacefully protest, but they are barely one third of the parliament, they don't get to prevent the formation of a new government.

Katuwal

I hear he is scheduled to be out within months. That might be the best way to let him go.
The Maoists might have tried proving in court instead that he is way past retirement age.

In The News

PM Dahal meets Koirala NepalNews Koirala asked Dahal to cooperate in forming a government of national consensus. Dahal on his part said he would consider the proposal. ...... Dahal also tried to allay fears of NC leadership regarding the controversial videotape containing his speech during a close-door training to PLA commanders one and half years ago. ...... He had headed straight to Koirala residence after attending his party's politburo meeting held at Bhaktapur. ...... NC leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Krishna Prasad Sitaula were also present at the meeting.
Prez consults CA chairman on procedure of appointing new PM there is no other way of appointing a PM except taking the issue to the parliament ...... Maoists CA members have disrupted the proceedings of the House for two consecutive days
Maoist politburo for more protests to revert President's move Both the parties need support from Madhesi parties to garner majority for the new government. Madhesi parties have sought consensus on their agendas in return for their support. ..... On Wednesday, caretaker Prime Minister Dahal claimed the new government would also be under his party's leadership.
'UML leadership for unity govt has already been agreed upon' said it's certain that the next government would be led by UML and what is being awaited now is a formal decision of the UML with the nomination of its leader, who will become the Prime Minister. ...... the Maoists should be part of the new coalition, but they cannot take the leadership. ...... Madhesi parties, whose participation or support is a must for the new ruling coalition to take shape, are yet to make their positions clear
Minister Yadav issues 'death threat' against journo
Maoists threaten cadres of other parties in Siraha
Crisis with a Silver Line They have publicly and unequivocally avowed that their ultimate goal remains to convert Nepal into a people’s republic. The ruling coalition partners and opposition parties were deeply worried about it. Excesses of the Young Communist League, a Maoist outfit, have always been a cause of serious concern for other parties and the public. YCL members engage in preventing and disrupting activities of other political parties and in killing and maiming their opponents. ........ the neutrality of the civil service, police and intelligence was being dented by stuffing Maoist loyalists and supporters in senior posts ........ Maoists were trying to undermine the judiciary’s independence by cowing the courts to give verdicts of their liking. The military brass was under enormous pressure to integrate into army ranks the 19,000 Maoist combatants living in the 7 UN-monitored cantonments. ......... Children cannot go to school; the sick cannot go to hospitals; and employees cannot go to their jobs. People are forced to live in dark, because there is power outage of more than 12 hours every day. There is no petrol at the gas station, no running water at the tap, no cooking gas in the store. ......... Investors are looking elsewhere to invest. ..... The dismissal of the army chief was the last straw that broke the patience of UML ....... UML walked out of the government in protest and pulled the crisis’s trigger. ....... But they cannot govern, and the Maoists will make sure of it by churning the streets and by disrupting the house ........ you cannot possibly leave the largest party in the house – they have 238 seats out of 601 -- out of government altogether if you are serious about writing the constitution, whose approval requires a two-thirds majority. .......... if the Maoists have been a problem player in the government, they could prove a nightmare out of it. ........ a government that commands at least a two-thirds majority in the constituent assembly. A government of simple majority should be the last option.

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