Kedar Karki
Leader-Nepali Congress
Former Chief Minister: Koshi Province Government
The party cannot run with the monotonous character of ‘Gagan-Vishwa’: Kedar Karki
Kedar Karki
Incidents of religious and communal tension were reported in various parts of Koshi Province, especially in Dewangunj and other areas of Sunsari. On Monday, a minor dispute over playing DJ while going to offer Bolbam water turned violent and two people lost their lives.
Although Home Minister Sudan Gurung was present in person and reached an agreement with the victims, questions are still being raised on the presence of the local administration, use of force and security management in this incident. On the other hand, the internal dispute within the Nepali Congress, the oldest and largest democratic party of the country, is escalating.
Leaders and cadres of other factions have been dissatisfied with the working style of party president Gagan Thapa and vice-president Bishwa Prakash Sharma.
Preparations are underway to organize a special ‘national gathering’ under the coordination of BP Koirala’s son Dr Shashank Koirala to save the party, saying the risk of split has increased due to such ‘single-minded’ and immature decisions of the leadership.
Similarly, due to the continuous changes in the power equation of the province, the day is approaching to change in the equation of Koshi Province.
Based on these contemporary and political issues, a video conversation with Nepali Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Koshi Province, Kedar Karki, for Nepal News Bank:
Lately, communal conflict÷incidents have been taking place. You have also been to the affected areas including Dewangunj. What do you find the atmosphere there, what are they saying?
There seems to be a fight over playing DJ on the pretext of taking water from Koshi to the temple for Bolbam. But even though it appears to be a normal religious battle, it is clear that it has taken a violent turn due to a mistake on the part of the administration.
because in order to correct it immediately, there should have been an attempt to distinguish the mistake and make it correct. That didn’t happen. It seems that more force has been used.
The Home Minister was found to have come and walked alone on the border and most of them went without informing them. The Home Minister seems to have increased the smuggling rather than the smuggling. There have also been some controversies due to smuggling.
The locals, the people, the federal representatives and the administration had acted seriously, the incident would not have happened and it would not have taken such a drastic form, the people there say.
As a result, there was communal harmony, lack of administrative ‘lack of information’, non-implementation of suggestions and the administration only flirting with the people of the government rather than the local people.
No one seems to be focused on how to manage the locals. In some police stations, MPs were found to be giving a bigger salute than the minister. The police seem to be less interested in structure or communal harmony as they are saluting.
In the month of Saun, such an incident would not have happened if the administration had taken more and more attention to the things like worshiping Shiva, offering water, wearing yellow clothes, going to Bolbam, etc.
What do you find in the latest situation?
There are two things in this. This gradually turned into communal violence. Communalism spread in the form of religious violence. Some even helped it through social media.
Locals believe that the relationship between the smuggling and the administration may have led to a major incident. But it was also taken communally. On Monday, when the DJ was played, another group came to stop it, and when there was a fight, some communal things were also found to enter together.
But the solution was to use more force rather than to detain and control those who were involved in criminal activity. As a result, there seems to be a communal rift across the country. There is still fear, suspicion and hope at the scenes. Both sides have hope and demand for peace and security, but there is fear on both sides.
How the
administration takes it is important. Therefore, the problem can be solved only by understanding this ‘ground’. Administrative repression or ordinary documentation alone cannot solve this. For a long-term solution, a solution can be found by people who understand the situation, culture, religious situation, lifestyle, festivals and geography of the place.
There is also a consensus on the
incident. But there have been many such agreements, what should be done for implementation?
This agreement is for the time being ‘handiplast’ or stitches only. Now the work of CT scan, to see if there is an injury inside, to operate.
My role will be to take initiatives with the concerned bodies for a long-term solution, implement the agreement, exert pressure for an impartial investigation and coordinate. If the government fulfills its promises on a fast track, it will gradually move on the path of reconciliation.
Now let’s change the context, is the Congress on the verge of splitting?
Congress has not reached a deal of division, but it seems that friends are inclined towards splitting. The party president and vice-president are of the view that the party should be split soon so that only we are the ones who will do the living.
The other side is that the party would have been able to unite, live with dignity and cooperate. One side is sharing ‘you are the current president, I am the next one’. On the other hand, there are old, jailed, senior leaders who have fought for democracy and nationalism. None of them say ‘I will be the president or the prime minister’. They want to die seeing the Nepali Congress united.
Otherwise, there would be a split as soon as the special convention was over. He could have contested the election with a different symbol. The elders who did not leave the party even after being insulted and humiliated by the Panchayat and giving in to greed, are still not trying to leave the party. But those who are in the hands of the president are not trying to become the president of 100 percent. This is the biggest obstacle to party unification.
You have prepared for a national gathering, what will happen from it?
National gatherings also create pressure to unify the party. If you become responsible before the national gathering, the party will be unified.
Do you see that chance?
The person who becomes the president should want to be the president of the entire Congress. If they are not mobilized by others, there is a consensus. If the president is responsible, another party will not be formed.
In the meantime, there has been a game of changing the provincial governments, you are also a former Chief Minister, what is the clear opinion?
This is an example of how the current committee of the Nepali Congress is immature. It’s the decisions they make on emotion.
is the result of working freely instead of figuring out how to communicate with other parties and how to make them credible. A strong and democratic provincial government was needed to check and balance the federal government, to strengthen federalism, to warn the prime minister that the province was made a bulgar.
But they made an immature decision. First, Prachanda proposed to Oli to form a three-party government, but Oli did not agree. After that, the vice-president went to ask for a minister after talking to Oli for 1 hour and 56 minutes. When that was not done, Prachanda gave them a paper rose, and they sniffed it. After returning from Sri Lanka, he said that he would sit in the opposition and then exercise to form the government the next day. This shows their immaturity.
On the one hand, in the City Hall program, ‘We will continue to make Gaganji the Prime Minister’, and on the other hand, will there be anger when someone else becomes the Chief Minister÷Minister in the state? Does such a singular character constitute an organization?
An agreement has been forged between UML and CPN. In the meantime, what will happen to Koshi now?
In the case of Koshi, the court is now in the hands of the UML. They are undecided due to internal disputes and internal conflicts in the UML.
We are now looking at it from a distance, officially speaking. There is no situation to interfere or advise. Now the party leader has to decide, but the party leader is waiting for what will come from the top. Even the above do not know what their role is.
So nothing can be said about the party right now. In terms of parliament, we are now in a wait-and-see situation for the formation of a new government.
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