By Sunil KC

Nepali politics since 2046 BS (1990 AD), after the multiparty system was ushered in, has been a tale of nepotism, favouristim, corruption, back-stabbing, tunnel-vision, bigotry and going to any extent for personal and partisan political interests.

All those who were schooled during the time of the ‘infamous!’ panchayat system must have remembered that there was a subject on Panchayat in the school curriculum. One chapter on that subject was the ‘reasons for the failure of the multiparty system’ in Nepal. One of the reasons elucidated on the failure of the multiparty system in Nepal was the partisan interest of the political parties that had led to political chaos and growing social unrest. That time, the Nepali Congress, led by BP Koirala despite securing almost a two-thirds majority in the parliament, had failed to bring in political stability. The political mayhem and anarchy prompted the then King Mahendra to intervene and to establish the party-less panchayat system in 1960.

Thirty years later in 1990, after the establishment of the multiparty system for the second time, the political parties failed to learn any lesson, and political disorder chaos, social unrest and confusion flared up again, but in a much, much broader and deeper scale.

There have been every imaginable type of political permutations and combinations among the political parties, but not a single of them has been able to provide a stable government that lasted its full term. Each time as soon as a new government is formed, there are collusions and conspiracies to topple it. The inter-and intra-party fighting, back-stabbing and deceit among the party’s top leaders and its rank and file have been all too common.

Ganesh Man Singh, one of the three Congress leaders who had steered the party for decades, once famously said about Nepalese politics, it is not a dog that wags the tail, but it is the tail that wags the dog.

That tweak on the tail that influences every aspect of governance from making and breaking the government, who will be in the government, and almost every major decisions of the government come from many sides and in all forms – within the party’s factions and sub-factions, those close to the corridor of power, family members, relatives and other interest groups.

Take one among dozens and dozens of cases, that of Kulman Ghising of Nepal Electricity Authority. After Ghising took over the mantle of NEA, the country was freed from the clutch of load shedding that at times spanned up to 18 hours a day. The country has now even become a net energy exporter earning billions to the country. However, when he tried to recoup the outstanding energy bills from big factories and business houses, which used electricity under special arrangement when the country was facing widespread blackouts, he faced expulsion. When Prime Minister KP Oli abruptly ordered Ghising to reconnect the electricity to those industries and businesses or be ready to be kicked out, it is not difficult to guess where the squeeze on the tail has come from.

Another episode was the case when Nepali citizens were given fake documents making them Bhutanese refugees so that they could be sent to countries like Australia, USA and Europe for resettlement under a UN programme. Those accused in that case involve influential persons of big parties such as Top Bahadur Rayamajhi of the Maoist Party, who joined UML later, and his son, Bal Krishna Khand of Nepali Congress and his spouse, Ram Bahadur Thapa, former Maoist leader and now with UML and his son. Those also charged included, Indrajit Rai, said to be a security advisor to Thapa. However, one person, named Bechan Jha, is said to be the main man pulling the string. He has been arrested and is in custody. This raises a serious question about who actually runs the government or who actually makes important decisions on the government’s policies and programmes.

And most importantly, the twist and jerk that comes from outside the country has been most conspicuous in shaping the course of the country. One senior intelligence official in India has openly said that during the Maoist people’s war, the Maoist leaders were housed by them at one time.

However, even more damning could be when the political parties here were working to write a new constitution following the forced step-down of the monarchy. Former Indian Foreign Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj told the Indian parliament that she regularly used to have very elaborate and intricate engagements with all the top leaders of Nepalese political parties when Nepal was working on writing the present constitution. There was not a single day that time when one or the other Nepali political leaders were not in Delhi, she specifically said. That clearly says that the much-hyped constituent assembly was nothing but a façade, and tug was being pulled by someone else from somewhere. In another instance, she said that the Nepali parties and leaders have a false notion that it is them that they make or break the government in Nepal. This says it is all about the political gameplay in Nepal.

Bhim Rawal, the ousted UML man, said that during the uprising of 2062/63 there was no agenda for federalism, republic and a secular state. Those agendas were sneaked in by somebody from outside.

Yes, Ganesh Man Singh, the tail wags the dog in Nepali politics and the governance system. With the leash in somebody else’s hand, leaders of the political parties here try to out-howl each other.