The current government is a stark example of how a country should not be governed. Despite being the principal coalition partner, the NC is a mere spectator of the PM's autocratic decisions
Recently, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT) announced a ban on certain social media platforms, stating that they had failed to comply with the ministry's directives to register with MoCIT. In addition, a social media bill allegedly containing stringent regulations aimed at curbing the freedom of speech is under consideration in the parliament. Amid all these undemocratic activities, it is ironic that the Nepali Congress – the self-proclaimed torchbearer of democracy and freedom of speech – is the principal coalition partner in the government.
Nepali National Congress (NNC) was established in 1946 with an objective to challenge the autocratic Rana regime. The party subsequently went into transformation, and the Nepali Congress (NC) was formed in 1950 that was firmly committed to championing democratic principles. The NC has been the main stakeholder in every major political transformation in the country, be it the toppling of the Rana regime in 1950, the reinstatement of multiparty democracy in 1990, or monarchy abolishment in 2008. Despite the presence of countless leftist outfits in Nepal, the NC has consistently stood firm in the defense of democratic values.
The NC's foundation was laid on democratic ideals, and its founding figure BP Koirala always upheld the party's core principles despite suffering from severe repression of the Panchayat regime, imposed after King Mahendra's coup d'état in 1961. BP Koirala's democratic legacy was carried forward by his successors, KP Bhattarai and Ganesh Man Singh, during the heydays of the autocratic Panchayat regime. After the fall of the Panchayat regime in 1990, the NC initially headed in the right direction. However, the defeat of KP Bhattarai in the 1991 general elections – allegedly due to the betrayal from within the party and the rise of GP Koirala – appeared to steer both the party and the country toward a dark tunnel of oligarchy and autocracy. In the later years, Koirala operated the party machinery as if it were his personal property. The pinnacle of this approach was his support for abolishing the monarchy, driven by sheer ambition to become president – a move that stood in stark contrast to the NC's foundational principles.
After the demise of GP Koirala, it was anticipated that the NC would realign itself with its foundational democratic ideals. Instead, the subsequent leadership and core factions of the party embraced the so-called GP Koirala doctrine – marked by oligarchy and poor governance. The incumbent chairperson of the Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, with a humble family background and inspirational struggle in favour of reinstating multiparty democracy, was expected to reform the party after his hard-fought political bout against the Koirala faction. Ironically, Deuba embraced the same political culture once he assumed leadership – consolidating power and seizing control of the party machinery.
The ultimate blunder of the NC was undoubtedly the formation of an unconstitutional pre-electoral coalition with the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre) – the political force with exclusively contrasting political alignment. Instead of rectifying this blunder, the NC agreed to form a ruling coalition with the Maoists even after the initial failure of their pre-electoral coalition. If this were not enough, in a dramatic turn of event, the NC finally switched its coalition partner and supported CPN-UML honcho KP Sharma Oli to the premiership.
The current government stands as a stark example of how a country should not be governed. Despite being the principal coalition partner, the NC has reduced itself to a mere spectator of the Prime Minister's undemocratic practices and autocratic decisions. Over that, the ministerial representatives of the NC in the government are equally incompetent.
The recent move to ban certain social media platforms clearly reflects the dictatorial mindset of the government. In fact, the silence of the NC's so-called media-friendly general secretaries is more troubling and condemnable.
The NC's failure to uphold its democratic stature has deteriorated the reputation of the party, leaving it struggling to maintain a positive image among the people. Its alliances with various leftist outfits – driven by petty political interests and to satiate the power hunger of a few selected individuals – have tarnished the reputation of Nepal's pioneer democratic force. The NC's decline has, in turn, fueled the mushrooming of numerous new and directionless political parties across the country. Indeed, forming a political party now appears to be a popular trend and benefitting business in Nepal, with politics increasingly seen as a lucrative convergence point for professionals from all walks of life, most of them morally and judicially tainted individuals.
In the contemporary era, democracy and good governance serve as the foundational pillars of sustainable progress. Given its historic legacy, the NC must revisit its undemocratic activities so far and remodel itself for the greater good of Nepal. Unfortunately, recent developments suggest that such a move cannot be expected from the current leadership or from the tested – but failed – first, second, and even the third tiers of NC leaders and cadres. This shifts the responsibility of restoring the party's long-lost reputation and reviving the democratic glory of the BP Koirala era on the untested, clean, and energetic new generation of leaders. Failing this, the collapse of the NC seems inevitable, leaving the country to endure prolonged cycles of undemocratic and autocratic rule entangled within the clutches of leftist outfits and alternative-claiming careerist political forces.
Dr Joshi is a senior scientist and independent opinion maker based in Germany,
pushpa.joshi@gmail.com
