PM Koirala to continue active politics

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 9 May: Hardly anyone believed ailing octogenarian Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s pre-election promise he would resign after the 10 April election.
Koirala’s entire politics after 1990 has been concentrated on attaining and retaining power even by toppling his own party government.
Even after a disastrous Congress party performance that sent the party tumbling down to a second party, Koirala said Thursday he won’t quit.
But he attempted to blame others for the defeat in which his family and kitchen cabinet were almost totally wiped out.
“I will be active in politics until I am alive,” Koirala, who suffers from a serious respiratory ailment, told party workers Thursday.
“I couldn’t go to the districts because of my health condition and I wanted the new leadership during elections. But this didn’t happen as expected,” Koirala said.
Koirala was clearly to blame others, probably Sher Bahadur Deuba, for the Congress defeat at the hands of Maoists.
But a vocal element in the Congress, blaming Koirala for the defeat, is demanding a special general convention meeting to elect a new leadership to lead the party with a new policy programme.
Koirala has been blamed for his adventures and pushing a Maoist programme.
The fact remains Congress Koirala has always lost elections with Koirala at the helm in government while communists were elevated to power under him.
Again with his frail health, Koirala is hardly in a fit to condition to lead the party with dynamism.
Koirala gave an indication earlier he wouldn’t accept responsibility for the defeat when he didn’t accept the resignation of cousin Sishil Koirala as acting party president.
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