By IANS
Kathmandu : When they were in the opposition and led a tough life, often having to live underground for months, their intellects were razor-sharp thanks to voracious reading. But now that they are in power, Nepal’s politicians have no time even to read newspapers, settling for a quick summary by aides.
Three of Nepal’s top politicians – Maoist supremo Prachanda, chief of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist Madhav Kumar Nepal, and deposed prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who heads the Nepali Congress (Democratic) party – have lost their reading habit, according to the Nepali tabloid Naya Patrika.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who also leads the biggest party in parliament, the Nepali Congress, was never known for his fondness for books. He was often compared unfavourably with his elder brother Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala and became the butt of jokes, the tabloid said.
Recently, Madhav Kumar Nepal’s party held a meet of its senior leaders where the communist chief himself admitted that politicians were losing their reading habit.
“In the party ranks, there is a growing disinclination to read,” the former deputy prime minister said in his report tabled at the party meet. “Instead, there is a tendency to make analyses and light comments on the basis of what appears in the media.”
Ironically, the chief himself, whose house boasts of a library, says he hasn’t been able to give any time to reading due to unending political activities.
Prime Minister Koirala, who is in his 80s and grappling with ill health as well as state problems, has no time for reading either.
The tabloid said his aides and advisers keep him posted about daily happenings.Since he signed a peace pact with the government last year, Maoist chief Prachanda too has had little time for studies.
Although he keeps an hour in the morning to glance through the papers, he can rarely keep his schedule of reading more at night.
Former premier Sher Bahadur Deuba had always preferred leading a merry life than reading, the tabloid said. He doesn’t even have time to read the daily news but depends on his men to give him a snap summary, it said.
While his day is spent in phone calls and meetings, the night is kept for dinners and parties, the report said.
Another Left leader, Lilamani Pokhrel of People’s Front Nepal, who had made books his close companions during his stints in prison, now says that he has no time for them due to political activities.
“When I hear there are new books on political subjects, I glance through them but otherwise, with my work starting from the morning, there’s no time,” Pokhrel told Naya Patrika.