Sher Bahadur Deuba has finally broken the glass ceiling in the Nepali Congress. He contested for party presidency twice – in 2006 against (late) Girija Prasad Koirala and 2010 against (late) Sushil Koirala. He lost. He was elected the NC president two weeks ago. It was a roaring victory. Deuba will probably go down in history as a lieutenant, who never dropped his guard for a moment even as he stood up, for decades, against his own political mentor Girija Prasad. His political career has been a roller coaster ride since being elected to the Parliament in 1991 from Dadheldhura, and has represented his home constituency to date. Prakash Rimal and Prakash Acharya spoke to the NC’s newly elected president at his posh residence in Budhanilakantha. Excerpts:
Why do you think the Congress voters voted for you the way they did?
Friends believed me. I joined the party even before the line of moustache appeared on my face. I was nearly killed in the course of democratic movement during the Panchayat regime. I served as president of Nepal Students Union. I have been a prime minister three times and possess the experience of running the party. Friends from across the country have given me their vote of trust to keep the party united. They have done justice to me.
Has the party united now?
I think we are united. The voting pattern indicates that. But we have a long way to go as the country has entered a federal system. We have to give federal structure to the party. I am planning to commission a comprehensive study to recommend the party’s structure to fall in line with the federal system of governance. Nepali Congress needs to be strengthened to implement the republican system as this is the only party that can guarantee pluralism, which is necessary for other parties to exist.
You have appointed seven leaders as Central Working Committee members. What role will they get in the party?
A Central Working Committee member in itself is a responsible position. While the position of president, general secretary and the treasurer are directly elected by the party workers, the CWC elects a vice president, another general secretary and the joint general secretary. The roles and responsibilities will be discussed and allotted through consultations. Ramchandra Paudel is a senior friend who has already worked as the party’s vice president.
Krishna Prasad Sitaula has exhibited good performance in the past. Narahari Acharya resolved the difficult task of settling the dispute surrounding the active memberships of the party in the run-up to the general convention. Arjun Narsingh KC is a proven leader. Gagan Thapa is a rising youth leader. There are a number of departments that need to be filled. I will move ahead taking them all along. That’s what the party mandate is about.
Looks like numerous new positions will have to be created to manage ambitions, aspirations?
Some are in favour of creating several new positions while others are opposed to it. I plan to call the party’s Mahasamiti in about six months or so to take a call. We need to study as to how political parties are run in other countries in a federal system. I do not have any readymade answer. Just speaking off-the-cuff, we can appoint seven general secretaries for seven provinces or can constitute as many provincial working committees. There is a need to transform the party as per the federal structure as we cannot go back on it. But it will have to be decided by the Mahasamiti.
You said – we cannot go back on federalism. Does that mean there’s some scope for a rethink on republicanism and secularism?
I don’t think monarchy will ever be revived. It collapsed because of its own follies. The royal takeover itself effectively dealt the coup de grace. The country has come a long way since abolishing monarchy and turning Nepal into a federal democratic republic in 2008. Nepal’s population constitutes over 80 per cent Hindus. So, a large section of the population has yet to come to terms with secularism. When the Constituent Assembly was getting down to the real nitty-gritty of the constitutional content, we, the Congress, pleaded to omit the term ‘secularism’ to replace it with ‘religious freedom’. However, we could not do so as we did not have the required two-thirds majority. I was personally committed to religious freedom. If the people want to turn the clock back they can do so in future. The indigenous nationalities, some Buddhists, Christians and Muslims want secularism. I still think there can be a middle way.
There have been longstanding charges against you: resorting to unfair means to stay on in power, handing over
democracy to the royal palace and splitting the party.
I offered customs duty waiver on vehicles for Members of Parliament as per the consensus decision of an all-party meeting. The sole purpose was help elected representatives remain in touch with the people. They needed mobility. I know some MPs abused the facility accorded to them. Aren’t the lawmakers in question guilty and shouldn’t they actually be blamed for their irresponsible behaviour? In any case, that was, to repeat, a consensus decision made by an all-party meeting. How can leaders of all other parties who backed that decision not be held to account. It’s unfair to blame me alone.
I had dissolved the House and extended the state of emergency, as recommended by the Nepali Army, because we needed the Army to combat the Maoist rebels. Girijababu asked me to lift the emergency, but I was apprehensive that the king could provoke the army if emergency was not extended. Remember, king Gyanendra was giving statements that he would not be a mute spectator like king Birendra. I had told Girijababu about my fears. I was the sitting prime minister when Girija Prasad Koirala expelled me from the party. A man who always fought for multiparty democracy didn’t now have a political party. I couldn’t have remained a party-less prime minister. The party was split under those circumstances. Leaders of six parties gave me in written to postpone the parliamentary election that were due in November, because, they feared, given the Maoist control, the elections could not happen. I obliged, and made a submission to the king to postpone the election schedule for November 13. The king dismissed me for requesting election postponement. Here, I am blamed for handing over democracy to the royal palace. He put me behind the bar. Aren’t the top leaders of the six parties (including Madhav Kumar Nepal, Sushil Koirala and Surya Bahadur Thapa) who sought rescheduling the elections responsible?
As the president of the largest party, what challenges do you see in the country?
The biggest challenge is implementing the constitution. Recently, the issue of parliamentary hearing has created problem. If we have accepted all other things to go as per the earlier constitution until we can set up new systems as per new constitution, why not accept it. Settling the federal boundaries is another challenge. But I believe we can resolve the boundary issue through negotiations. I plan to talk to all parties. I have very good relations with all leaders. In the mid-west and far-west, maybe, we can give autonomy to the Tharus in areas where they are the dominant group.
What if other ethnic groups demand autonomy in pockets where they form the majority?
The concerns in the east and the west are different. Tharus in the west are in the middle of the hills people. And thus I have proposed to enlist Rana Tharus as per their demand. I will visit Kailali, I will talk to people and leaders there. Some parts of Kailali could be adjusted.
What do you say about the bitter relationship with India after the border blockade?
It is not good to scratch wounds of the past. We should leave no stone unturned to improve the relationship with India. There is people-to-people relationship at cultural, religious and other levels. We have a long open border. Indians come to Pashupatinath and we go to Tirupati. We can settle political relations through dialogues.
You have said NC should play the role of an effective opposition while some of your aides say an NC-led government is on the cards.
The immediate priority is not to dislodge the government. As the largest party in the parliament, Nepali Congress will be an effective opposition. Corruption control should get top national priority and the government should crack down on black-marketing. We have to break the syndicate system in different areas, including transport. We need to develop infrastructure and turn our attention to long overdue local elections. The quality of education has deteriorated in public schools and government colleges. Parents want their children to get better education than they did and students prefer to go abroad to pursue higher education. There are too many things to straighten up. All of this is not possible in the absence of political stability. We need to bring foreign investments. For that, we need stability. We should crack down on corruption and black-marketing.
The government has been unable to spend the Rs 600 billion pledged by donors for post-quake reconstruction. The Reconstruction Authority has been created but the state’s response is too slow even as people are dying due to cold even today. The government has been very ineffective. One cannot be satisfied with the performance of the government. Efforts are being made to politicise the judiciary. Institutions cannot function if there is political interference. The bureaucracy, police, army and judiciary should be free from politics. The border blockade was lifted. But the government is not doing much to restore normalcy. There is a nexus between the black-marketers and the government officials and we will raise the issue strongly in the Parliament.
But political stability is hard to come by given the electoral system that we have embraced.
Our party pleaded for a different election system. The Lower House could be elected under the first-past-the-post system and the Upper through proportional representation. I know no single party will be able to form a majority government for a long time because of the kind of election system, but we had to compromise. Maybe, parties will be able to find a solution to likely political instability in the due course of time. There is one safeguard though – the provision that bans vote of no confidence for two years. That will give some stability, at least a government will go on for two years. Had there been an agreement on threshold for the PR system that would have contributed to political stability.
Has Nepal’s political transition ended?
Nepal is now a federal democratic republic. To me, Nepal’s long history of political transition has ended, but it takes time for the people to transform themselves, to get used to these changes. It takes time for them to embrace these changes as a way of life.
Should the local elections be a top priority?
We need consensus for it. We need to amend the laws. The government has formed a committee to draw boundaries of local bodies. We can accomplish it through national consensus. A national government may be needed to hold the local polls.
Will the stage be set for the Congress to form a new government if Tarai problems were resolved?
This is a majority government. We don’t have any plan to overthrow this government. As we need checks and balances. A unity government is not the best option in a parliamentary democracy. Big parties banding together and doing whatever they feel like is no good in a democracy. We want to play the role of effective opposition in the House, but it doesn’t mean we should remain in opposition for all.
• Mahasamiti can decide whether to create more positions in the party
• Monarchy can’t be revived, can’t go back on federalism
• Religious freedom can be a middle path
• Boundary issue can be resolved through negotiations
• Tharus can be given autonomy
• NC will play the role of an effective opposition
• Foreign investments a must
• Government too slow on post-quake reconstruction
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