RENDEZVOUS: Ravi Bhakta Shrestha and Suraj Vaidya

Ravi Bhakta Shrestha

Not long after the executive committee members of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry had put aside their differences to move forward in unison, its President, Pradeep Jung Pandey was arrested on a three-decade-old corruption case. As the country’s umbrella body of the private sector needs to elect a new president for the remaining term of the executive committee, Pushpa Raj Acharya of The Himalayan Times caught up with Ravi Bhakta Shrestha (past president of FNCCI and chairperson of FNCCI’s Disciplinary Committee) and Suraj Vaidya (immediate past president of FNCCI) for a tête-à-tête about the past dispute, the present challenges and the way forward. Excerpts:

As chair of the disciplinary committee of FNCCI, what do you feel is your biggest feat until now?

The disciplinary committee is yet to get its full shape. But as a chair of the committee, I believe I’ve managed to narrow down the rift between two groups in the incumbent executive committee. FNCCI statute has a provision of forming the disciplinary committee and advisory committee and both are very important for smooth running of the federation. After being appointed as the chair of the disciplinary committee, I have somehow persuaded the infighting groups to come together for the sake of the prestige of the organisation.

But how exactly were the disputes that were exposed during the election time last year resolved?

One thing is for sure — it wasn’t easy. But I guess all the executive members realised that we had to sort out our differences and work together for the greater good of the private sector as a whole. Moreover, all of us realised that because of the infighting, FNCCI was not garnering the kind of support it used to get from the government, political parties and civil society, among others. This also helped the two factions to forge a consensus to make FNCCI strong. Having said that, now all former presidents are willing to stand together to sort out the current crisis. I can honestly say that whatever differences there were have been ironed out and now all of us want to give the message of unity.

And yet, it took FNCCI two weeks after Pandey’s arrest to demand his release. Why was the federation silent earlier?

Initially, we were in a dilemma regarding what to do. But then, there was a gathering of the district and municipal chambers and they strongly voiced that FNCCI should support Pandey as an industrialist of the country. So, FNCCI decided to issue a formal statement after that. A committee has also been formed to help Pandey out of this problem, perhaps by generating support from the state mechanisms.

After Pandey is removed from the post of FNCCI president through the meeting of office bearers on April 10, the federation will have to elect another president for the remaining term of this executive committee within six months. It is said that past presidents are generating support to appoint a president unanimously, is it true?

It’s time to give the message of unity, which is why we are generating support to appoint the president unanimously. FNCCI’s annual general meeting is going to be held on April 11 and immediately after that we’ll start doing homework for a new president. From the way things are going, I don’t think there will be any problem in appointing a new president unanimously. However, in case we are unable to generate consensus, we’ll go for election without delay. If we go for election, the president will be elected through healthy democratic practice.

FNCCI past presidents have often been charged with interfering in the day-to-day affairs of the federation after candidate they support wins. Will things be different now?

I want to assure everyone that it won’t happen again. What we’ve achieved now is unprecedented and we’ll not repeat the mistakes of the past. We have continuously seen the consequences of such divisions since 2001 when Padma Jyoti and Binod Chaudhary were vying for the helm of the federation. I’m very much happy that all the past presidents are united to strengthen FNCCI, which is really unprecedented.

Lastly, what is FNCCI’s stance regarding Pandey’s case?

This is the first time in the history of FNCCI that its elected president has been jailed. It is really a serious issue and we have to take a wise decision at this time. It’s the culture and one of the objectives of FNCCI to support entrepreneurs during their difficulties. Pandey has been sentenced to jail on a three-decade-old corruption charge. We can’t challenge the decision of the court, but we must see how we can help Pandey and his family in this trying time. And all the past presidents are convinced to support him.

This is not the right time to go for an election


Suraj Vaidya


What is your view regarding appointing a new president in FNCCI for remaining tenure of the executive committee?

While the current situation is definitely challenging, I think it also offers an opportunity for us to strengthen FNCCI. And for that, I believe we should appoint the new president through consensus.

Are you hopeful that the new president will be selected unanimously?

Yes, very much. All of us strongly believe FNCCI should be strengthened and a president selected unanimously can deliver accordingly. We have to prioritise the interest of the organisation first and this is not the right time to go for an election. Doing so might create division in FNCCI yet again. I think everyone has realised the need for unity. While election in itself is an important aspect of a democratic process, how we go for the election will determine future of organisation.

So, who are the candidates for the next president?

We haven’t started discussions on it yet. For now, we all have one voice and that is to strengthen the FNCCI and to make the right decisions to achieve this objective. The names of the candidates will be floated during the upcoming meetings.

FNCCI has a long history of its past presidents being divided when it comes to naming presidential candidates. How can you be so sure that history won’t repeat again?

FNCCI’s history hasn’t always been marred by divisions — we have a history of unity as well. If we recall the time of Ravi Bhakta Shrestha and Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, we see there was unity and consensus in FNCCI. We have to move forward by embracing that spirit. More importantly, as we have seen in the past, any candidate who does not have unanimous support in the federation had a very tough time in advancing FNCCI and its core objectives. So, there really is no alternative to a common candidate.

Have you interacted with other past presidents regarding recent developments of FNCCI?

I’ve interacted not only with the past presidents but also with other concerned people and representatives of district, municipal chambers, associates, bi-national chambers and commodity associations. I found a majority of them in favour of unanimous leadership at this time.

Do you think those who got elected through the democratic process were restrained by certain interest groups?

While the FNCCI statute has given the authority to the leadership to handle the federation, we have seen those at the helm failing to win the confidence of the team members. Apart from giving rise to numerous problems, past presidents were also able to capitalise on this situation. Though its statute does not allow the past presidents to get involved in the day-to-day affairs, there have been incidences of such things happening. Tradition is also an important guideline to move forward. In the last one year, we have breached the statute, breached the tradition and that might create a difficult situation for the future leaders. For example, they’ve handpicked someone for the post of director general. Yes, FNCCI statute allows its executives to appoint staff for secretariat, but that doesn’t mean someone can be handpicked. In these situations, FNCCI should follow the general norms, tradition. In addition, the leadership is supposed to be loyal to his team and the voters who voted for him. But, in FNCCI, leaders
become loyal to so-called ‘kingmakers’. In theory, FNCCI has only one chair for the president, but in practice, there are numerous pseudo presidents and that is the problem facing FNCCI leadership. In regards to the past presidents, I don’t see the need for them to get involved in the day-to-day activities of FNCCI. They should trust the leadership and let them handle the organisation. Until and unless the past presidents change their overbearing attitude, problems will not be eliminated.

Do you think all the disputes and controversies have weakened FNCCI?

No, I don’t think so. Every institution goes through bouts of difficult times and FNCCI is going through a rough patch now. Ironically, it is during this difficult time that everyone has realised the need to unite and do whatever possible from their level to make the federation stronger. It is an important organisation representing entire private sector and we can do much better in future. Moreover, FNCCI should support its president Pradeep Jung Pandey, who has been sentenced to jail based on the court’s order.

Source: THT