Myrepublica.com caught up with Poudel to learn about the progress made in the three-party talks, the party’s upcoming general convention and various other contemporary issues.
Excerpts:
Myrepublica.com: How far have things progressed in the three-party talks to end the House deadlock?
Ram Chandra Poudel: There had been an agreement among the three parties – NC, CPN-UML and the UCPN (Maoist) – to prepare a common draft proposal to be tabled in the parliament and move forward accordingly. After a long discussion with the Maoists, the NC and the UML sat together to finalize the issues to be incorporated in the proposed common draft. The two parties discussed in detail about the Maoists’ concerns and prepared the proposal.
We agreed to settle for a common proposal instead of a resolution motion that the Maoists had long been demanding for. We were against any such motion against the president. We have clearly said in the draft proposal that all political parties in principle agree on civilian supremacy. The draft proposal clearly spells that executive power will be vested in the cabinet and that the army would be under civilian control as provisioned in the constitution. We have prepared the draft in such a way that it gives an honorable exit to the Maoists.
I have no idea whether or not Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal himself reached out to Koirala, offering him support to become the new PM. If this is true, then it could be a strategic move of the Maoists.
Myrepublica.com: What is NC’s and UML’s point of difference with the Maoists?
Poudel: The Maoists, as it seems, want to go back to the point from where we started our negotiation to settle the House deadlock. They have been demanding that the move of the president be corrected while we have been maintaining that the president did not commit any mistake. Instead, it was the prime minister (PM) who first made the mistake. The president acted as per our (18 parties) recommendation. We did not make a recommendation to the president to commit a mistake. We had asked him to safeguard the constitution as the Maoists violated the constitutional provision over the army chief dismissal. It is now clear that the Maoists are trying to get back to power by making an excuse of civilian supremacy.
Myrepublica.com: There have been allegations from various quarters that NC is chiefly to be blamed for the prolonged House deadlock. What do you have to say on this?
Poudel: No. It is not the NC which is the cause of the House deadlock. The main reason for the prolonged House deadlock is the Maoists’ desire to get back to power. They have been desperate after stepping down from the government and have been persistently running after power in with the excuse of civilian supremacy. The Maoists’ demand is no way based on principles. If it was a matter of principle, we could have sat together and sorted them out by now.
Myrepublica.com: When do you think will the House deadlock end?
Poudel: What I personally feel is that the Maoists must come to a realization sooner rather than later to end the deadlock. The manner in which the Maoists are behaving cannot bring any resolution to the problem. We are committed when it comes to the issue of making people sovereign. This is the cause we fought for all along.
An ordinary person has been elected as the president of the country. Did he become a king, as alleged by the Maoists, when he tried to correct the unconstitutional move of the PM? He just acted to safeguarded democracy.
Myrepublica.com: It has been reported that the party president for the third time asked the PM to promote his daughter Sujata Koirala to the post of deputy prime minister (DPM) while NC senior leaders, including you, have asked the PM not to take any such decision without the institutional decision of the party. Will you have any reservation over her appointment as DPM?
Poudel: I don’t want to talk about any particular person here. We will discuss the issue when it comes to our party. Neither has this issue figured in our party, nor have we been asked about this by anyone so far. Our party or institution has not been asked anything about it (by the party president). I have nothing to say on this now.
We have already made it clear that the person leading the party in the government should be someone who can best fulfill the interests of the party. That person should be a senior leader of the party. We said this when the government was just formed. Apart from that, we have said nothing about it. What we said then was based on the feelings of all our party cadres and the interests of the party as a whole. We are saying this even now.
Nevertheless, we are not in favor of creating schism within the party over the same issue. All we want from the PM is that his dealing with our party be based on an institutional basis. We cannot agree on any decisions that bypasses the institution.
Myrepublica.com: There have been rumors about government change? Is your party really looking for an alternative government now?
Poudel: NC is not in favor of changing the government now. The nation is in dire need of stability. This is the time to be united to draft a new constitution by putting a stable government in place. First, the ongoing peace process needs to be taken to a logical end. The second priority is to draft a democratic constitution.
The kind of things that the Maoists are proposing will not make the new constitution democratic. We have been engaged in debate with them as they have tried to control the court, press, political parties and civil liberties. This is going to establish a controlled governance system against which we fought for all along. Multi-party democratic system is the best form of government system for Nepal. It does not do injustice to anyone as it relies on the principle of power separation.
Myrepublica.com: There are talks that NC President Girija Prasad Koirala himself is trying to solicit Maoist support to become the next PM. Is this true?
Poudel: I don’t think that Girijababu asked the Maoists to lend their support to him. I have no idea whether or not Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal himself reached out to Koirala, offering him support to become the new PM. It is difficult to pass any comment on this by just going through media reports. If this is true, then it could be a strategic move of the Maoists. Such a tactic of the Maoists would do no good to our party. We will not fall in this trap. I believe Girijababu won’t fall for this because NC has suffered as a result of Maoists’ similar conspiracies in the past.
Myrepublica.com: How do you rate the performance of the current government?
Poudel: This government was formed at a critical time. The main opposition party, the Maoists, did not allow this government to work without hindrance even during its honeymoon period. The Maoists appeared extremely intolerant towards the government right from the day it was formed. No other government in Nepal has ever faced so much protest from the opposition. Despite all these odds, the government has been able to improve the law and order situation and there are indications that things are moving in a positive direction in other sectors as well. We cannot expect complete delivery from a government formed at such a critical juncture.
Myrepublica.com: Is it possible to hold the party’s general convention as scheduled in March, 2010, given that differences between two factions continue to persist at the district level even two years after the unification of NC (Democratic) with the mother party?
Poudel: We are committed to holding the general convention in the stipulated date. We have decided to settle the differences that exist at the district level before distributing active membership of the party. There have been differences in about half of the total 75 districts. Village-level and regional-level committees operating in a parallel manner need to be merged first. We have decided to form a committee to settle the issue.
Myrepublica.com: Will your party decide to defer the Mahasamiti meeting since the party president has already asked the party leadership for this?
Poudel: We are holding discussions amongst ourselves regarding the meeting. We are also preparing to hold a meeting with Girijababu to bring him into confidence in this regard. We expect to soon reach a conclusion on this.
Myrepublica.com: The party president has been arguing that holding both Mahasamiti meeting and general convention in the same year would involve huge costs and that the party would not be able to afford it. Is this really the case?
Poudel: The expenses needed to hold the Mahasamiti meeting is not a big deal. We can hold the Mahasamiti meeting even without the party incurring any cost. So many of our friends keep coming to Kathmandu. If we ask them to come for the Mahasamiti meeting, they will bear the expenses of coming here on their own. However, it is important to decide whether or not the meeting is needed this year.
Personally, I feel that there is a need to hold the Mahasamiti meeting since we are set to bring changes in the party’s organizational structure. As the general convention is the ultimate body to endorse amendment in the party statute, I have felt the need to hold the Mahasamiti meeting before the general convention.
Myrepublica.com: What about your candidacy for the president in the general convention?
Poudel: I have not thought about my candidacy so far. I am concerned about the future of the party. For me, complete unity of the party is important than the post of president. I am in favor of strengthening the party. I am more concerned that the party has still not seen complete unity even two years after the unification of the then NC (Democratic) with the mother party. I have tried to send out a message of unity by including party leaders from all factions in the parliamentary party committee.
Myrepublica.com: So we should understand that Ram Chandra Poudel is not filing candidacy for the post of president during this general convention?
Poudel: I have not at all thought of the candidacy at the moment. I am more concerned about maintaining unity within the party. However, I don’t rule out my candidacy now. It will depend on circumstances. What is true is that so far I don’t have any aspiration or desire to contest for the post of president.
Myrepublica.com: NC is a major coalition partner in the government. How will NC play its role to take the ongoing peace process to a logical end in the days ahead?
Poudel: We are primarily engaged in arguments and debates with the Maoists. The Maoists should abide by all the agreements reached in the past. We should be working jointly with the Maoists to draft the new constitution. Moreover, difficult questions have surfaced on various issues including ethnicity-based federal state. There must be understanding and homework among NC, UML, the Maoists and the Madhesi parties to draft a new constitution. NC is taking initiatives to find amicable solutions to all problems that the country is facing through dialogue.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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