Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa, who has been constantly criticizing the government’s performance, has said that it is necessary to change the style of work even though there is no alternative to the government. General Secretary Thapa, who has been to various villages and cities of the country for the past three months and returned, said that the current work will not be enough to overcome the dissatisfaction of the citizens. In an interview with News Agency Nepal, General Secretary Thapa said that if the government cannot change its working style, it may have to think about an alternative to the government. He said that although the head of the government is UML, the body is Congress, so he understands that the one with the bigger body will suffer a lot. He said that political understanding cannot be maintained by suffering a lot of losses. But he said that the Congress has not thought about this yet. He urged people not to understand that the coalition is trying to change while criticizing the government’s performance. General Secretary Thapa said that one should not forget that the leader of the day and the government of the day will be the prime minister and that he is the captain of the ship. Edited excerpt of a conversation with General Secretary Thapa.
The country has been in turmoil for the past few months, How is the news from the country and the world, What do the people say?
When I participate in party programs, I have seen great enthusiasm among party members, there is energy, it is like a festival. There is dancing and singing, there are processions and gatherings. But if I had limited myself to this, I would have come with the feeling that the festival is vibrant, everywhere. But even though I saw this on the outside, there were many other things inside and I had to try to understand them. I spent the night there, conscious that when I opened the letter, there were many more things and that I had to try to understand them. I interacted with friends working at the lower levels of the party and outside the party. I talked to friends from various professions, including educational institutions, health institutions, and the private sector, and from this, I put together what I saw in common.
I used to say that there is despair in society, but this confirmed that there is discontent and restlessness in society. There is a difference between despair and dissatisfaction. Despair is when hope is dead, when you give up, thinking that nothing will happen anymore. But what kind of feeling is dissatisfaction, anxiety. Not being satisfied with what is happening because you think it should have been better and that it could have been better, I have found this.
It’s like, “Why couldn’t we have done better than this?” If we think that this can become energy without taking it negatively by the political leadership and administrative leadership, this is also an opportunity. Dissatisfaction can be turned into satisfaction very quickly. That’s why I have come with mixed feelings. I have not only seen the celebration and excitement, but also the restlessness, anxiety, and dissatisfaction that are there. Sitting in Kathmandu, they are trying to say that there is disappointment everywhere, but that is not the case. A lot of things are changing, but there is a feeling that has been created due to the events happening at the national level and their commentary, and I have returned with this mixed feeling that it can be overcome.
Why is there disappointment even when there is a government of two major parties, Why is the same trend repeated?
Let me remind you of an incident a while ago. Prachandaji was the Prime Minister, we were traveling in power sharing. I stood in Parliament and told him that the Prime Minister is the captain of the ship in the parliamentary system. Everyone should be made to understand that everyone has their role, but with so much authority and so much decisive power, he alone decides where to take the ship. What do you think, what are the priorities? What is your focus? It depends. I remember you saying that you have both vigilance and caution. Some time later, I stood in the parliament and said to him, how much free time do you have? When I was invited to some programs, I did not go because I did not want to attend. But you have been the chief guest at a program that I did not attend or I did not attend a program where you were the chief guest.
How much free time do you have? Why did I explain that not only now, but also then I was in a position of responsibility in the power-sharing party. I was close to the Prime Minister, I was helping him, it was my duty. But we wanted the Prime Minister to work on a war footing. The meaning of war footing is different, the psychology is different, he has so much hunger for results, worries and fears that he does not use any other facilities, that is why he thinks, focuses. While we are all busy trying to figure out how to work, we are in a festive mood, full of joy, wandering around, and there is no priority. We have said whatever we want, we don’t know where we are going. We have thought that we have time for years.
A person who is himself in a leadership role of the ruling coalition, A member of the mechanism created to help the government run, Is it appropriate to criticize such a thing?
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## The questions I ask from time to time are not to make the government a failure or to criticize it. Yesterday, Prachanda’s government was tried to be successful, but what can be done when the pot is boiling? The same thing is happening now. The confusion that we have, but I have made it clear whether those who are responsible have that level of confusion or not. That is why I feel that I have asked a question that must be asked from my place. It may be uncomfortable to ask such a question from outside. The reason I am saying this is to change the time, I am in a power partnership with the CPN-UML, the Prime Minister has changed. I am saying this in connection with the trend you raised, but not in the current context. We want to fulfill it as long as we are in charge. I now want Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government to be successful. And I am making and will do everything possible from my place to make this government successful.
The public statements of General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma and other leaders have shown hesitation and confusion in the political circle, Is it like opposing the government while sitting in the government?
The Nepali Congress Party has entered into a partnership through political understanding by choice. The reputation that the Congress has earned in recent times means that it does not commit any dishonesty after entering the path of power sharing, and that such dishonesty does not come from it. At least we do not want to lose our reputation. We may sometimes have to pay the price for it, but we are aware. We are aware that the government will not fall because of us. But what we are worried about is that if the government survives but is not sold, then we will have to pay the biggest price. The concern of the current friends of the Congress is that the government survives and we will try to sustain it. You mentioned a little confusion, which may have also been heard. What is the opinion of Gagan Thapa, General Secretary Bishwaprakash Sharma and others towards the government? Do they not want to sustain the government? Not at all, we are not above and beyond the understanding or decision made by the party.
We do not have to be ministers or get involved in the daily game of the government. If we want to make the government successful, there is no question of getting involved in that game. But the value of this government also has to increase. Trust in the government has to increase. Because we have a big body. We have been carrying such a government. No matter whose head it is, the body is ours, if it falls, we will suffer more. Therefore, our concern is that the credibility of this government increases, the government’s rating increases, and the number of people who thank and wish us well increases. In fact, it is not increasing. Now we want to think about whether to cover it up and keep it hidden, or what to do. So that the government can survive or be sold in the end. And our concern is that the Nepali Congress also benefits from it.
Whatever problems there were before the formation of this government, they are still there and have not diminished, More have been added, What is the responsibility of Congress in such a situation, Should only the Prime Minister, be responsible?
Many of the problems seen here today were not created by this government. But what he came up with was that this government came to test the previous government, the regime, the leadership, and the problems created by our style, taking risks and putting our strength to work. That is why we also helped by sacrificing our lives. We were given the benefit of doubt for a few months in the beginning. Those who expressed dissatisfaction in the beginning were small at that time, but with requests because it had just started. At that time, everyone gave the benefit of doubt. We also got excited. For example, if you gave the example of teachers and employees, etc., if we had been able to take the right decisions at the right time and work, what would these friends be saying now? I have had problems for years. After this government came, it would have listened to my problems, understood them, and taken them forward, in the context of these bills. I still remember how many bills I took to the party leaders’ meeting with proposals that needed to be made? Within how many days can they be made?
I remember discussing how it could be done. Initially, our attention also reached the leadership. What everyone felt was that we had come with a big political responsibility and made a promise. A little later, we started to feel relieved, we have a majority, who will shake it and say. Another thing, don’t send too many letters. You said the right thing as you said. When the decisions that should be made in a normal leadership are not made on time, dozens of questions have come up, problems have arisen. Instead of answering the questions here and reducing the questions, we have reached the point of carrying the burden of unnecessary questions by making decisions for the leadership of a ministry or an organization. Now, we have reached the point of carrying the burden of questions without making the necessary decisions. These are the things that have increased dissatisfaction with our leadership or the tension. But this work is not ours to do, rather who will do it, the leader of the day, the government of the day, the prime minister is the prime minister, he leads the council of ministers. The problem arose because we did not understand that if such things are not done on time, there is a big question of trust in the entire coalition or in us. What kind of trouble are we in, as you said before, how many people may think that what I am saying now is that we should take responsibility ourselves and ask questions ourselves, and we will get angry. We are responsible, we are trying to get things done, but it is not happening. What can we say now? We cannot even take responsibility because we are not doing it ourselves. Even if we are told not to complain or ask questions, we have to tell what we are doing. We are getting into unnecessary trouble.
Isn’t the internal politics of the Nepali Congress making it difficult for the government to work?
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## I think that, just like all the parties that form an alliance with the Nepali Congress Party, it is easier for the party to understand that the Congress has its own structure and structure. It is not just about numbers. It is easy to work with it in some ways and we need to pay attention to some things. Now, both I and the other general secretary are helping our president and we want to help, we want to make the relationship with the president more comfortable. Yesterday, when Prachanda was in power, there were some difficulties in dealing with the Nepali Congress because our internal relationship was not easy, he would say that we should deal with someone in the Congress. Now it is different, the UML leadership actually has it easy.
As far as we are concerned, those running the government now do not have to feel any discomfort, it was not like this yesterday. How can we be understood when it comes to governments, delivery, and if we praise the government in the public sphere, there is no greater propagandist than us. There are such situations in the Congress that if I make the right decision, the people of the Congress will praise me more than my party. Let me remind you, some time ago, when the government was gaining momentum, what criticism we were facing when we praised the government was that you have forgotten that you have to compete with the UML tomorrow, you are bigger than KP Oli, and you have become a fan of KP Oli, but it did not make any difference. Even now, we want to do the same thing, if we can praise the person running the government, we should be able to explain the work. This is the style we have created. We need to understand the dynamics within the party, if we don’t understand this, then there is a conspiracy. Until recently, people used to say good things about me, why are they saying bad things now? Is there a collusion somewhere? This is how things are said. Prachanda also felt that yesterday. The current Prime Minister may also feel that way. I think that the problem also arose when we didn’t understand how we think.
You are the largest party, If this government does not deliver, why not form another government that can deliver, If it is concluded that it cannot provide comfort to the people, then can’t an alternative to the government be considered?
As of this moment when I am talking to you, both personally and institutionally, we are not even at the initial stage of finding an alternative to the understanding we made with the UML. I have said before that we want to continue being honest with the political understanding we have made and implementing it, which we have earned a reputation for. We have not thought about such an alternative, nor have we contemplated it, nor have we had any discussions among ourselves. But if the current situation is what must happen for the continuation of this situation, then if the government does not deliver, it does not mean that we will continue to think like this forever. And we do not want any such situation to arise. At this time, we do not want to come to a situation where we do not even think about the questions you have raised. Our only condition at the moment is that the joint government of the Nepali Congress and the UML has to take some risks in terms of good governance, in terms of reforms in the economic sector, and to make it feel that it is ready to find a way to reduce the restlessness among the people through its actions. That is all that is wanted now.
Is it because of the representatives sent by Congress to the government that the work has not been done, That should be looked into, shouldn’t it, If you help, #On the condition of delivery?
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## If that is the case, he should have said it openly. As we are saying, we are not satisfied with the work you have done, we are not satisfied with the speed. We are not satisfied with some of the decisions. Initially, it had a rhythm but could not continue it. There is still time and space to handle it. But what we are doing is not yielding results, we are saying that the method should be changed. If there is something like that about us, we should say it, we are ready to discuss it.
What and how to do now?
I will say it in connection with the first question while cutting the bit. When I am going to the village now, today I have a conversation with friends like a question and answer session with you. You say no, I listen and tell you my things. When it comes to how we will finally conclude, I heard you say no, I agree with your words. But the treatment available to us today and the appropriate treatment path is that what is happening now should be corrected. It should be made to improve. If it is not corrected, the dilemma of what to do and correcting it will not be corrected. For now, this is the one to correct. It is about improving the way of working, style, and behavior. It is about improving its priorities. It is about focusing on it, working on it. But where should we start for that? The dissatisfaction that we talked about at the citizen level, that what is happening is not happening right, that it could be better, we also have that dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction is the beginning for improvement, we have to start with the fact that there is dissatisfaction. We have said that we should go from here, but for now, I think we should only think about this.
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