Is Dr. Bhattarai really committed to form Naya Shakti?

Kathmandu: The move of Dr. Baburam Bhattarai to leave the Maoist party and form Naya Shakti (New Force) is gaining momentum but has also been receiving criticism. The question here is, are the comments genuine or merely to disparage and discourage him.

Dr. Bhattarai, who has actively initiated different campaigns for more than four months, recently announced a coordination committee comprising people of different walks of life, but his committee is being criticized for being as a club of retired people. The committee comprises some retired bureaucrats, some former high ranking security officials, Nepali cine artists and journalists along with some former Maoist leaders. The unique character of Nepali society is that most of the intellectuals judge people based on their preoccupied perception rather than doing healthy criticism. The recent comment is a case in point. People are not commenting on who should be in the Naya Shakti, they are just criticizing who are in the force.

When Dr. Bhattarai left the party, I wrote an article saying that if Dr. Bhattarai just forms another political party having former Maoist leaders, it will not be more than adding one more political party and it can’t be a new force. However, while analyzing the people involved in the coordination committee, I can say that this is one step ahead in the process of forming the new force. Regarding the issue of retired people, I am very much optimistic that if they were given decisive roles in Naya Shakti, they will contribute a lot to lead politics in a positive direction as they have decade long experience in different sectors of the country and they know the ground reality. Most of the people involved in the committee are experts of their fields and they have contributed and worked in the top posts of bureaucracy for many years and are quiet aware about pros and cons of Nepali society. Therefore they can contribute to lead Nepal in a new direction. There is no point in criticizing the former bureaucrats for being part of Naya Shakti as we have suffered a lot. We are in the midst of diplomatic failures as we do not have knowledgeable and experienced people in the political parties. On the flip side, if we think that young people can deliver results, why are the Nepali people suffering from youth wings of political parties like Youth Force, Young Communist league and Nepal Tarun Dal?

However, the challenge for the New Force is making good coordination between the former Maoist cadres and people of different walks of life who joined the Naya Shakti. I know Dr. Bhattarai is very good in making publicity stunts to grab the attention of media, so if his attempt is to genuinely bring people of different walks of life together and work for the benefit of the Nepali people, his recent move is very much welcome. If he incorporated these people just as a ‘showcase’, the New Force will face the fate as of various previous political parties which vanished from the political arena in a short period of time. If he really wants to lead the New Force, he should win the hearts of people by his policies and programs rather than showing the weaknesses of the Maoist party where he was in the top post for decades. It is very unprofessional to criticize other political parties to win the hearts of people.

The initial move of the party is quiet good but the party should work on making the cost for running the party transparent. Similarly, it should work to bring all people scattered across the globe in its network as they are interested and can contribute for the betterment of their motherland. People have left their country for various reasons and there are many people who have been doing excellent in their respective areas that are interested to return to their motherland and contribute to the country. The Naya Shakti should create a platform for bringing such people on board. Dr. Bhattarai, who is leading the movement, should come out of the narrow circle of his comrades of the former Maoist party, and should create a broad party, not just the club of former Maoist leaders and cadres.

It has been almost a decade of discussion and debate about forming a New Force and many groups have worked towards forming such force but without success. Dr. Bhattarai has taken a risk by forming it and leaving the second position of the Maoist party, so we should encourage him to do better rather than delivering unhealthy criticism. It is imperative that the Naya Shakti should listen to healthy criticism and improve accordingly. The need of Naya Shakti was realized when the political parties failed to deliver as per people’s expectation and if the current force led by Dr. Bhattarai fails to deliver, it will be tested by the people during the elections and some other new force might emerge.

Nepal is small country full of natural resources. If there is willpower on the part of policy makers and vision in the politicians it will not take long time for the development of the country. However, most of the political parties and leaders are involved in the power game rather than working for the development of the country. In this context, the Naya Shakti should made its roadmap for the development of the country and should deliver as per its commitment.

The success and failure of the Naya Shakti will depend on the horizon of the political fore. If it is limited to former Maoist leaders and cadres and some apolitical persons for showcasing them, it will not last for a long, but if it makes public its vision and policies and creates credible environment for intellects and experts of Nepali Diaspora scattered across the globe, the Naya Shakti is sure to succeed. For example, one of my friends returned from Canada after completing his PHD with the view of doing something for the country. He took some initiative for institutionalizing his knowledge but could not succeed due to ongoing political stalemate and chaos in the country and finally he returned to Canada. When Dr. Bhattarai floated the proposal of forming a Naya Shakti, many people staying in different countries have been asking whether the New Force will be the platform to incorporate their ideas and expertise. This is the challenge for Dr. Bhattarai to create platform for taking them on board and make balance between his former rebel leaders and creative and intellectual people. This is just one example, there are many people who are seeking some platform to contribute for the motherland, and the Naya Shakti should be the platform for such people. If such people join the political party in Nepal, it will help to end corruption as they can earn their livelihoods by selling their expertise and also contribute towards running the political party. So, rather than just seeking party cadres to pelt stones and enforce Nepal Bandhas and other strikes, the Naya Shakti should encourage people who can have healthy debates and listen to healthy criticism.

The Naya Shakti should make its funding transparent and work on some alternatives for running the party rather than just seeking donations from entrepreneurs. Dr. Bhattarai should come out of his narrow circle and make it a global platform of the Nepali Diaspora with clear vision of the political party directed towards betterment of the country. Similarly, it should have clear policy on how to generate funds for running the party so that it does not run under the influence of some external or internal force.

Dr. Bhattarai has taken a political gamble by initiating the movement for forming a Naya Shakti but its success depends on his horizon of thinking.

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