Vote and Voting

Kathmandu: Politics is more than meets the eye.
There is in essence beyond the eye which the general people either ignore or take the things as is being given to understand.
More so, the Nepali politics is as gauche and conspiratorial as any thing as could be imagined.
Though, the rush to New Delhi, by some declared Indo-pendent Nepali leaders have been coined as a routine health check up, however, what is for sure is that the health check up was just a mere ruse to rush to Delhi to divert the attention of the larger segment of the society from the real issues.
The fact is that those who went to see their Indian masters did meet their preferred ones and have had pushed their basket of complaints against the ruling Maoists during their meet in Delhi.
The defeated United Marxists-Leninists leader Khadga Prasad Oli even told the Indian foreign minister Pranav Mukherjee In Delhi that “if the Maoists were not tamed on time, the entire South Asian region may see soon the flaring up of communal and caste hostility of the highest order”.
Minister Mukherjee is considered to be the number one heckler of the Nepal Maoists and Mr. Oli is presumed to be more Gandhian than Mahatma Gandhi itself.
Minister Mukherjee must have got the point after he was adequately briefed by visiting Nepal’s leader Oli.
Then enters into the New Delhi drama Nepal’s number one disparaging politician, Girija Prasad Koirala, whose abhorrence towards the Maoists perhaps needed no further explanation here as analysts presume that this remains no longer a secret now.
Koirala is the President of the Nepali Congress Party.
Nevertheless, what is also for sure is that it is this destructive political personality who brought the Maoists to Nepal’s Singh Durbar via New Delhi.
That Delhi remained instrumental in facilitating the Maoists to bounce to the power corridors of Nepal had recently been admitted by none less than by Indian Foreign Minister Pranav Mukherjee while talking to AL Jazeera Television this January. In effect, this TV interview of the Indian minister exposed the Indian establishment to the hilt.
But senior Koirala returned empty handed.
Sources in Delhi claim that the Italian Queen Sonia Gandhi-the de facto ruler of the incumbent Indian establishment, told Koirala point blank to support the Maoists led government by being a constituent of the same coalition set up and too at the earliest.
Compassionate and immature political brains may conclude that Sonia Gandhi favored peace and tranquility in Nepal.
Redundant and jocular conclusions that it is by all means.
The hidden message of Sonia Gandhi made to Koirala is to be in the Maoists led coalition until the India sponsored and drafted “extradition” treaty is signed by the Nepal government.
Sonia wants that practically all the political parties in Nepal, including the Nepali Congress, jointly and collectively favors this Indian draft proposal for sake of avoiding political debates and controversy back in Nepal. Clever Sonia! It is this inner desire that Sonia sounded to Koirala.
The destructive politician, read Koirala, took it as an “instruction” from Madame India and will perhaps okay the Indian draft proposal of the most controversial extradition treaty which is awaiting authoritative signature from both the countries.
In saying so, Sonia apparently hinted Koirala that after the said Extradition Treaty is signed, she can see to the possibilities of some other political equations which could replace the Maoists as desired by Nepali Congress President Koirala.
This does then mean that Sonia wants the Treaty get signed through the “skilled” and “structured” use of the Maoists in Nepal government which has the tacit support of the Nepali Congress as well.
The Extradition Treaty which India wants signed by Nepal government have some clauses and articles which allows the Indian establishment any third country national deportation to India from Nepal whom she considers that his or her continued presence in Nepal may have an impact on her security situation.
Any third country national thus should have to be deported to India by Nepal if India wanted his or her deportation.
The Target could well be first the Pakistanis and then the Chinese which may encompass later the Europeans and Americans.
Nepal Maoists are not that fool not to understand the Indian intrigues. Sensing in advance that Koirala and Oli could damage their prospects of continuing in power, Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal immediately sent his ailing Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam to Delhi under the same stunt of health check up.
Media sources claim that a day in advance prior to his Delhi visit, Minister Gautam had pocketed the photocopy of the “ready-to-be-signed” draft of the extradition treaty from his ministry in order to exhibit the Maoist government’s sincerity towards the Indian establishment.
Gautam is presumed to have shown the photocopy of the draft of the said treaty to the high placed New Delhi authorities and also could have assured the Indian side that it was only a matter of days and weeks the Treaty will be duly signed by the Nepal government.
Home Minister Gautam has already returned to Kathmandu after his “health-checkup”.
It should be in this light the Sonia Gandhi’s instructions to Koirala should be taken, analysts claim.
Back home, sensing the excessive flexible mood of the Maoists led government towards the Indian establishment, the Chinese regime too has become extra sensitive and is apparently pressing Nepal PM Dahal to fix the date of his impending China visit.
Understandably, the Chinese want that the fresh draft of Peace and Friendship Treaty which they have forwarded to Nepal PM Dahal be signed much ahead of the signing of the Indian draft of the extradition treaty. (The Chinese sensitivity has equally sensitized the democratic West).
Nepal PM Dahal is under immense pressure from both the sides and he can’t say no to either of the neighbors.
In a way, he is playing double with both of the immediate neighbors at his own peril.
This will be dangerous for him. If he lets down the Indian establishment then the next second he will be unseated as India has so many tentacles in Nepal posted here and there. The Chinese will hopefully, as usual, remain a mere onlooker in this government change game, if that does happen in real sense of the term.
But equally true is the fact that China will not settle for less this time come what may.
How Pushpa Kamal Dahal sails in the troubled waters is where his political acumen will be tested?
Definitely he is in between the fire and the frying pan. How he escapes from such a situation will further test his political maneuvering capabilities.
Having said all these, Koirala upon his return to Kathmandu says to the Nepali media men, “Now I will restructure the entire political machinery in Nepal”. What does he mean? Sounds dangerous indeed.
Does he mean that he will dismantle the current government or the entire republican system?
Moreover, the nepali Congress President has told his party followers that his party may join the Maoist led coalition government.
Should this mean that his party will join this government as per the instructions of Sonia Gandhi?
How the Nepalese politics takes its course in the coming days will apparently make the political hotchpotch clearer.