Kathmandu. Former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has suggested that the Prime Minister and ministers of the present government should work responsibly and humbly. He said that it will take time to gain experience of running the state as new people have come to the government and suggested that they should move forward by correcting the shortcomings.
In an exclusive conversation with Nepal News Bank, Bhattarai said that the people in the government should not assume that they know everything. Stating that there is never anything to learn in the world, he said that the new generation should move forward by learning from the old and the old ones should also help the new.
He said, “If you talk about the work that the government is doing, there are some complications because there has been a big disaster recently. There may be some difficulties. Most of them are experiencing different things for the first time. Recently, some people in the National Assembly have become ministers who were former MPs. Otherwise, many new people have come here. So running the state, as statecraft says, is not just about reading books. It is also a matter of learning and knowing in practice. So learning is also the need of the hour. ’
Bhattarai said that it would not be appropriate to criticize the government’s shortcomings in a ‘ruined, finished’ manner. But he said that the people in the government should be humble while learning.
He said, “They (the government and the parliament) should learn. For that, they should be humble. They should not be polite as they say, ‘I know everything, I don’t need to learn from anyone, we have come to teach’. Learning can never end. Therefore, it is better if they try to learn humbly. They should not say that they will show it to others. One should not go in a way of dragging one’s feet by exaggerating even the slightest mistake. ’
“The old ones will help the new, the new ones should also be humble and learn and move ahead — this is the way forward,” he suggested.
Suggestions to the government to clarify about ‘The Grey Zone’
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Claiming the role of US-backed organizations in the political rise of some prominent leaders of Rastriya Swatantra Party including Prime Minister Balendra Shah, Dr Bhattarai said the responsible people should answer to the investigative news published by US media ‘The Gray Zone’.
He said those in power should give a clear answer and the government should clarify in a satisfactory manner what the reality of the allegations or propaganda is.
He said, “I also saw the Grey Zone report. Maybe I was the first one who wrote on Twitter to answer about it. Because in politics, there are many things and some people also spread propaganda. But in a democracy, when someone makes an allegation, those in power should answer in a satisfactory way what it is. They should say, ‘This is not enough’ or ‘this is not enough’. ’
He also said that the tendency to link all political changes and events with foreign powers is wrong. But it cannot be said that big powers are not interested in a geopolitically sensitive country like Nepal.
“It is wrong if someone invents a conspiracy theory and starts saying that everything was done by outsiders. In some ways, there is that point of view. Whatever changes come, they say that they are done by foreigners, sometimes by India, sometimes by America, that is a bad practice,” he said.
He added, “But at the same time, we have to understand that in today’s world, we have to understand the geopolitical complexities like Nepal. It cannot be said that these forces are not playing in the country where India and China are between the big countries and the US is also interested. So when such things come up, I think it is good to clarify what the truth is. ’
Balen’s ‘result-oriented style’ positive
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Dr. Bhattarai said that the working style of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen) is result-oriented to some extent. He is of the opinion that the style of showing results by working is positive rather than external publicity.
“I think Balenji’s style is a little bit result-oriented, like ‘let’s do some work’. So I think he worked in a way that showed results, rather than being visible and participating in the program,” he said.
Bhattarai, however, said that Balen should be accountable to the parliament as per the current constitutional system as Balen is in favour of a directly elected executive system.
“He is also in favor of the directly elected executive system. But at this time, we have not gone to the executive decision system. According to the constitution, we have a system of electing the leader of the parliament and becoming the prime minister. That is why we should be accountable to the parliament at this time,” he said.
He said that there was some reluctance in Balen to attend the parliament and that it should not be done. He said that such a provision would be appropriate only after amending the constitution and going directly to the executive system.
Bhattarai said Balen’s style of working quietly rather than unnecessary meetings and outside gossip is positive.
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