By Prateek Pradhan, Ghanashyam Ojha and Puran P Bista
‘King should leave palace right after CA’s first sitting’Maoist
ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai has emerged as the real leader of this
country after the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. He defeated his
Nepali Congress opponent Chandraprakash Neupane with a huge margin from
Gorkha-2. He says the CPN (Maoist) will not dare to deviate from its
political commitments nor will it ever betray the people. He thinks the
Maoists have now taken upon their shoulders a greater responsibility,
that of restructuring the country and steering it onto the track of
economic prosperity.
Dr Bhattarai, a former student of
Jawaharlal Nehru University, is not surprised by the results of the CA
election. He argues that the CPN (Maoist) has changed the country’s
ground realities. Dr Bhattarai spoke with Prateek Pradhan, Ghanashyam Ojha and Puran P Bista of The Kathmandu Post on how the CPN (Maoist) would proceed with its economic and political agenda.
Excerpts:
Q: Your party appears to have emerged as the largest one. How would you proceed with your political agenda? Dr Baburam Bhattarai:
We had always pushed for the CA election, which was finally held last
week. During the interim period, the Seven-Party Alliance government
had already made certain political commitments. One of them was that we
would reach a political consensus to form the government. All the
political parties that have participated in the CA polls will join the
government. Now, the question is who will head it. Obviously, the
largest political party will lead the new government. So, naturally,
the CPN (Maoist) has to head the coalition government.
Q: Who will head the CPN (Maoist)? Could you name the captain of your party?Dr Bhattarai:
I can’t tell you right now. We have to discuss and decide who should be
the leader. We have to prepare a draft of the new political system. We
have to decide the fate of the monarchy. And only then we can think of
who will head the CPN (Maoist). Our intention is to establish a
presidential system. But we can’t be sure as we have to discuss the
matter with other political forces too. We must reach a political
consensus because the constitution would need to be amended to set up a
presidential system. Unless we have a political consensus, we can’t
amend the constitution. So, we can’t simply go for an executive
president. In case of political differences, we may have to follow the
present form of governance.
Q: How would the CPN (Maoist), being the largest political
force, approach other political parties in order to form the
government, abolish monarchy and declare Nepal a republic?Dr Bhattarai:
First, we are going to hold discussions with the major political
parties. We would need to seek their opinion and views before forming
the government. We would have to work under the Interim Constitution
for the time being which would require a political consensus. We shall
move forward on this basis. The first sitting of the CA will declare
this country a federal republic. For that, we have to develop a
political consensus. After that the question would be forming the new
government which will be done again on the basis of political
consensus. And then we will proceed with the drafting of the new
constitution of Nepal.
Besides these issues, there are other
political commitments such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
rehabilitation of displaced persons and revamping and integration of
the security forces. I think there will be several challenges and
questions. We have to review four things immediately – security,
political structure, the economy and international relation. Such
issues require a national consensus.
Q: How do you assess the election results? Did you expect that you would make such a strong showing?Dr Bhattarai:
The people were looking for total change. We advanced the political
agenda for total change during the decade-long people’s war. We have
people from different castes, ethnicities, genders and people from
different regions. The main agenda of the people’s war was to
restructure the state. It took 10 years of the people’s war to
establish our political agenda. The people felt that the country’s
socio-political and economic structure needed a complete overhaul. So
we couldn’t look at things through our old lenses. The media and the
elite missed the picture. As a result, the CA results surprised many.
The ground realities had changed and they helped us to emerge as the
largest party.
Q: Do you think that the people’s support that you have garnered is more than what you expected?Dr Bhattarai:
We had thought that we would come out as the largest party, and that we
might, if we reached a consensus, form the next government. But the
manner in which we have clinched victory in the CA polls makes us feel
that we have achieved more than what we expected to.
Nevertheless,
we did think that the results would be in our favor. I have observed
how people’s waves have swept parliamentary elections in India. In
1977, Indira Gandhi was defeated. Similarly, sympathy votes after her
tragic death helped Rajiv Gandhi to sweep the 1985 parliamentary
elections. I had seen such mass hysteria earlier. I personally visited
22 districts and assessed the situation three weeks before the CA
polls. I could foresee a massive wave rising in our support.
Unfortunately, the media saw things the opposite way. And we also could
not convince the media until the CA results showed that the people had
voted for us.
Q: You told a local FM station this
morning that you have now been burdened by greater responsibilities.
What do you mean by that?
Dr Bhattarai: I take it as a great responsibility
because we have to restructure the 250-year-old feudal system. You
cannot expect it to happen overnight. Secondly, while restructuring the
state, we have to take into account different aspects such as poverty,
illiteracy, health and others. We don’t have enough resources and skill
to reorganize the country in a way we want to. It may take at least
10-15 years to do it. There are mounting challenges ahead.
Q: How can you restructure the state and achieve economic growth in a short span of time?Dr Bhattarai:
What we need right now is political stability. We cannot think of rapid
economic growth sans political stability. Now the CA results have given
some hope for political stability. Secondly, there must be a strong
leadership. Above all, we have yet to start restructuring the state.
So, how can we think of the economy? The 30-year-long panchayat system
promised us that it would deliver the people’s needs, but it could not
do so as it was a political system imposed by the royal regime to serve
its own interests.
The post-1990 parliamentary system created a
sort of anarchy. It neither had any clear political vision nor could it
deliver anything. During this interim period, it would be difficult to
think of economic prosperity. We can only think of economic growth in
the post-CA period. This mandate has just opened the door to a future
Nepal. Now the job is to garner the support of all the political
parties and maintain political stability. This would be the beginning.
Second,
the resources we have include land, water, jungle, herbs and people. I
do not think that we run short of resources, but we need external
support for technology and skills. We need foreign investments. I am
sure if we really work together, we can achieve rapid economic growth
in a short span of time.
Q: China has adopted a liberal economic policy. It has achieved
remarkable economic growth in the past 30 years. To what extent do you
think we can follow China’s model?Dr Bhattarai:
China eliminated the feudal system during Mao’s regime. It established
a solid foundation for economic growth. We could have thought of making
rapid economic progress had the country been liberated from the age-old
feudal system. When you inject new technology after the foundation for
economic growth has been established, you can achieve such development.
We don’t have such a foundation now. Once we restructure the state and
involve the private sector, it will be possible to achieve rapid
economic growth. We would implement a transitional economic policy
during such an interim period which involves public and private
partnership.
Q: Currently we are seeing a pattern of capital flight. How are you going to halt this?Dr Bhattarai:
We can’t think of developing this country in the absence of domestic
and foreign investments. Technological inputs are of equal importance.
So, we will follow the policy of attracting domestic and foreign
investments. For that to happen, we have to put an end to political
instability. From our side, we have to provide security to investors
and create a conducive environment for domestic and foreign financiers.
And I also think that we will be able to resolve the differences
between labor and management. Unless we resolve such issues, we cannot
create a better investment atmosphere. In a nutshell, we recognize the
legitimacy of management and the participation of labor in management.
Secondly,
we have to identify areas for investment and create the necessary
infrastructure. We have to focus on productive sectors. We don’t want
to encourage assembly industries. Business activities should raise
productivity and generate employment.
Q: You mean the state’s involvement in economic activities will increase from now on?Dr Bhattarai:
The state will play the role of facilitator. The state cannot intervene
in business activities. It will encourage investors to raise
productivity and generate employment opportunities.
Q: We have seen – especially after the restoration of democracy
in 1990 – how political parties rewarded their cadres with jobs in the
bureaucracy and other social sectors. How are you planning to
restructure the bureaucracy and other sectors? Dr Bhattarai:
We have to, at all costs, restructure the bureaucracy and the judiciary
as they have always been tools of the monarchy. But we have to follow
certain norms. So let us leave it open. But we have to think of
revamping the security forces as integrating the People’s Liberation
Army and the Nepal Army is part of the peace process. We can think of
starting the restructuring process only after the monarchy has been
removed. But it will be open to discussion. We want to reform the
bureaucracy and other sectors in a democratic manner.
Q: You once said that Nepal did not need a huge security force.
But if you integrate the Maoist combatants and the army, you are going
to have a huge security force. Do you think Nepal needs such a large
army?Dr Bhattarai: The strength of the
security forces after the two are combined would be roughly over
100,000. Going by the country’s population, such a number may appear
necessary. But we have to reduce the size of the army in the long term.
I think that instead of having such a huge number of army, we could go
for trained militias who would defend the country at times of war. I
think it would be useful to train such a force. We should mobilize them
during emergencies.
Q: The UML fared badly in the CA polls. Do you foresee a single communist party in the near future?Dr Bhattarai:
Until recently, there were three political forces – royalists, social
democrats (who represent the bourgeoisie) and leftists. I think there
will be only two forces in the future – the Nepali Congress, which
represents the rich, and the left, which represents the poor. The NC
has its own political stand. It’s not going to lose its identity as it
has a clear vision and policy.
But the CPN-UML does not have
any political position. It neither represents the rich nor the masses.
It is a eunuch though it continues to be identified as a communist
party. It has lost its identity. It can’t stand any longer. Now the CPN
(Maoist) has established itself as a communist party. We welcome
committed communist cadres of the CPN-UML to our party.
Q: How long will it take to draft the new constitution? Dr Bhattarai:
It will take roughly two years. But how we proceed will depend on other
political forces as well. We must finish the new constitution as early
as possible so that we can focus on the economy.
Q: Some still argue that the Maoists may retain the monarchy in a ceremonial form. What do you think?Dr Bhattarai:
What surprises us is why people think that we will retain the monarchy
when it has ceased to exist. There is no question of retaining the
monarchy.
We did approach some nationalist royalists to join
us. That does not mean we are going to keep the monarchy. It is not
possible to save it in any form. It has ceased to exist in our minds.
Q: When will the king move out of Narayanhiti Palace?Dr Bhattarai:
The king has to quit Narayanhiti Palace immediately after we declare
Nepal a republic. This is the understanding of the Seven-Party
Alliance. He should leave the palace immediately after the first
sitting of the CA.