Newly elected Bibeksheel Sajha Party Chairman Samiksha Baskota has declared that the party will be revived from the current comatose state now that there are no ideological differences following the disavowal of the ‘Nation Above Notion’ proposed by then party chief Rabindra Mishra.
Mishra had proposed the abolition of federalism and demanded a plebiscite on secularism and called secularism and federalism an imported agenda that was installed more by foreign interference than by domestic politics.
Mishra, who had resigned as party leader after a humiliating defeat in local elections last May, joined the RPP before federal elections in November.
Baskota, who took over as acting party chief after Mishra’s resignation, has been unanimously elected Bibeksheel Sajha chairman by the recently ended general convention. In a video interview with Setopati, he admitted that the party was in a coma and on a fan due to internal disputes over ‘Nation Above Notion’, but stressed that he will revive now.
“We are all ideologically together after repealing ‘Nation over Notion,’” he stressed. “There are almost no ideological differences after we came together to say that we should work on the good governance, anti-corruption and compliance agenda with the founding spirit of changing the state of the country, not the system.”
She has pointed out that her closeness with Mishra in the past was only to strengthen the party and ruled out any possibility of a merger with RPP stating that her agenda is different from RPP’s, and parted ways with Mishra the day she joined RPP.
She has reiterated that the party accepts the Constitution and will indulge in solution-oriented politics by accepting secularism and republicanism. However, she added that the party has not yet discussed federalism. “We should move forward accepting that (federalism) now as we said yesterday that we accept the Constitution. But we need to focus on how to address the weaknesses there and strengthen the power of the state.”
She has claimed that the Rastriya Swatantra Party founded by Rabi Lamichhane rose on the basis of the alternative politics created by Bibeksheel Sajha, even as the latter performed poorly in the elections due to infighting within the party.
“The votes that the Rastriya Swatantra Party got were those of Bibeksheel Sajha. I feel that is the basis of Bibeksheel Sajha. RPP is a conservative party. Such parties exist in all countries. You can have your own vows. But the votes that the Rastriya Swatantra Party got, the way the citizens revolutionized voting, the votes of Bibeksheel Sajha and the parties that do alternative politics are there.”
She has opined that people will closely watch new parties and see whether they adhere to their high claims of integrity when in power, and whether they resort to individual-oriented politics or focus on the agendas of the people.
He added that the party under his leadership will now focus on the four pillars of technology, agriculture, hydropower and tourism for a sustainable economy. “We know that hundreds of thousands of citizens have gone abroad. More than 1,800 Nepalis go abroad every day. We should bring them back to Nepal.”
