“But I ask them to do it by this evening (Friday)…”[break]
He then used the analogy of master and servant to remind how leaders are meant to work for the people who pay taxes. “If you (leaders) don´t perform as expected, the masters (read people) will grab you by the ears and fire you.”
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has long been talking about how Nepal is run by foreign masters, but for once he listened to the domestic masters and withdrew the indefinite general strike in the evening.
We have seen and heard the comic duo in many avatars for the last 31 years but Friday showed yet again that they have long stopped being mere entertainers.
Assembly was to help Maoists
“We didn´t go there. Our heart took us there,” Acharya said about their participation in the program organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Professionals´ Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD). “We have seen the fate of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and felt generations would suffer if our country met a similar fate,” he added.
“If one doesn´t get to eat for days the stomach starts a revolution. We feared that if the irate people came out of their homes in retaliation, it would invite a disaster. We came for peace,” Shrestha reasoned.
The duo argued that the assembly was not against the Maoists. “It was in support of the Maoists. We provided them space for safe-landing and they have been able to show their compassionate side by taking back the strike,” Acharya said.
Decisive crowd
Shrestha spoke how he drew strength from thousands of hands waving in unison. “I have heard astronauts speak how beautiful the earth is when looked from the moon. I had a similar feeling when thousands of people waved their hands in support of peace and the rule of law,” said Shrestha.
Acharya explained how he felt that the thousands were his siblings, who had come together searching for peace. “I had not planned what to speak but seeing my siblings I gathered courage and made the master-servant analogy. I am glad that people liked it,” he said.
The duo opined that the intellectual crowd gathered there was the heart of the country. “I could see that the neutral crowd there was one that decides fate of governments during elections. They were the decision makers,” Shrestha recalled.
No political ambition
They have now become the adhesive that binds the people together but ruled out any political ambition saying they are not cut for the job. “God has not blessed us with the talent to lead people. Girija Babu and Prachanda have that gift,” Acharya opined.
“One has to learn the tricks of the trade before joining any profession. We are too old to learn it now. If we go to any political party, we would lose our fan base and we don´t want to fail by starting a new party before dying,” Acharya explained. “If a film flops, it is just a film that fails. But if politics fail, we get this scenario,” he added.
“It was the job of leaders, but they didn´t do it. We just got chance to officiate for them,” he talked about the inspirational leadership shown by them on Friday. “We are happy with our job and wish to remain happy with it,” he stated.
“We haven´t even though about entering politics. The country is at this condition because leaders took politics as a profession and not a means of social service,” Shrestha opined. “We are equidistant with all the parties.”
The duo refused to take any credit for Friday´s massive gathering. “We were just actors. The directors were FNCCCI and PAPAD who provided us the platform. They even had to take many accusations for organizing it,” Acharya said.
Regular exams for three decades
They felt the organizers may have considered their regular examinations on several fronts for the past three decades before inviting them for the assembly.
“We have never cheated in those exams. It is but human to make mistakes but we have not committed any knowingly,” Acharya claimed.
He also compared Friday´s speech with the dangerous situation of April Uprising in 2006 and said it was far easier this time. “There was curfew and life threat. We collected Rs 25 million for the victims´ fund and criminals were eyeing the amount. We had to keep the money in sacks as banks would have asked to disclose where the money came from,” Acharya reminisced. “We just had the experience of shooting for a film and used that experience in dealing with problems during the Janaandolan II,” he added.
“We had a protest program at Gurukul. Police attacked the program and bullets flew by the side of my head,” Acharya recalled his tryst with danger. About two years ago, a policeman came to Acharya and said that he had fired those shots. “I was told to fire at legs but I fired in a way so that the bullets wouldn´t hit you,” Acharya quoted the policeman as saying.
“If he had differences with me, he could have fired at my torso,” Acharya considers the chilling proposition. But thankfully, the policeman didn´t and Acharya knows precisely why he was spared.
The duo was flooded with congratulatory texts and calls immediately after the Maoists called back the general strike Friday evening. “I felt as if a person in chains was set free,” Shrestha said even as he accepted another congratulatory call from Pokhara Saturday afternoon.
“I felt extremely happy at first but later felt a bit apprehensive thinking about the burden of expectations on our shoulders,” Acharya revealed. “We hope we do not have to do this again. We wish the political parties do not have to come to the streets which are meant for vehicles,” he wished all the while aware that the civil society now knew who to turn to in the future to rally people in times of crisis.
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