ON/OFF THE RECORD

By P.R. Pradhan

Today, the present Ganatantra (Republicanism) has become the synonym of criminalism, kleptocracy, loot-tantra, sycophancy, and all types of pervertism. Reports state: A criminal jailed on the murder charge was released by the President on the occasion of the national day. After the release, he killed his ex-wife and two daughters. Aftab Alam, a member of parliament from the Nepali Congress, who the Rautahat District Court jailed on the charge of killing several youths by throwing them inside the brick kiln, has obtained a clean chit by the Janakpur High Court. Khushi Prasad Tharu, a judge appointed from the Nepali Congress quota, gave a clean chit to Alam, a murderer, on the eve of the Republic Day.

The Nepali Congress-affiliated students vandalized the office of the Vice Chancellor at the Tribhuvan University, but the administration is reluctant to take action against the students. The political parties in the government are involved in many immoral activities just for the money. The visit visa setting has existed at the Tribhuvan International Airport for several years. Of late, this scandal was disclosed as those immigration officers have said that they were collecting additional charges from those Nepalis visiting foreign countries on a visit visa, but to work illegally. One individual going to the Gulf countries had to pay 30 thousand rupees, and if the individual was going to the European countries, they had to pay three hundred thousand rupees to the immigration officers as a bribe. The immigration officers have claimed that they had to pay five million rupees daily to the Home Minister’s secretariat. Since the Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority (CIAA) started investigation on the visit visa scandal, members of the Opposition parties in Parliament have demanded resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak to pave the way for impartial and independent investigation but Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is trying to protect him denying his involvement in the visit visa scandal. Clearly, the officials cannot be assigned at the TIA without the consent of the Home Minister. By receiving five million rupees a day, in a month, on average, the Home Minister's secretariat was collecting 150 million rupees. Nepali youths--both male and female--are compelled to go abroad to work illegally as slaves, as they don’t get working permission in a foreign country. From those people, the political leaders are found collecting bribes. Those Nepalis working illegally in foreign countries face different hurdles, but our leaders are less bothered about the plight of the Nepalis in foreign countries; they are just concerned about collecting bribes from the citizens.  

Maoist Center’s chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda is claiming that when his government carried out an investigation into different scandals and when the investigation was intended towards Dr Arzu Rana Deuba and K.P. Sharma Oli, the coalition government led by him collapsed overnight. In fact, after the arrest of Chechen Jha, a broker in the Bhutanese refugee scandal, was arrested, former prime minister and husband of Arzu Deuba and UML chair K.P. Sharma Oli were afraid of the investigation. As a result, the present NC-UML coalition government was formed just to escape the Bhutanese refugee scandal.

Those people in politics have already forgotten morality, ethics and social values. As they have a stronghold in bureaucracy, judiciary and constitutional organs, they are openly involved in corruption and commission and organs investigating such practices have become silent spectators.    

Political leaders are concerned about serving their foreign powers to enjoy power. They have already forgotten the ethics of nationalism and national interests. Now, it has been proven that federalism in Nepal has become a white elephant as the country’s revenue is unable to bear the cost of 753 local bodies, seven provinces, 75 district coordination committees, and around 40 thousand political salary holders. Every time, during the presentation of the yearly budget, the government relies on collecting foreign and domestic debts. The debt burden has been continuously increasing, and it is about to cross the red line. If the present trend of collecting debts continues, the country will become bankrupt soon. From a financial point of view, the present political system cannot make the nation prosperous.

Those patriotic people, thus, are against the present political system, however, those political parties, political leaders and brokers, who are enjoying the cream of the present loot-tantra, are advocating for this system. They want the present political system just to make money and secure the future of their family members. On the other hand, those innocent and honest people are becoming poorer and poorer day by day due to the lack of opportunity to work or do business within the country.