EDITORIAL

Politics has become a flourishing business in Nepal since we have adopted “lok-tantra” which is popularly known as “loot-tantra”. Politics is not only a flourishing business but also a business ensuring profit without a single rupee investment. That is why there will be a rush of the party cadres for obtaining election tickets. Candidates even become ready to pay a donation to the party to get an election ticket. Once the candidate gets the ticket, donation starts to come like betting on the horse in the race. There are a few, or say, around six big brokers who control the entire government, no matter, whoever becomes the prime minister, they have the access to reach the bedroom of the executive chief of the nation. They can assign ministers and high-ranking officials, however, such ministers and officials should serve the brokers' interests. As per the design of those brokers, the cabinet will be formed and also appointments in the government organs will be made. They decide on the customs tariff and other policies of the government. One among the noted broker is learnt to have Dipak Bhatta. He was a powerful broker during the K.P. Sharma Oli-led government and now also he is powerful in the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government. One weekly reported that different ministers visit his residence in Sanepa at late night and they discuss the upcoming government policy following the instruction of Bhatta. Therefore, Oli or Deuba come and go, but there is a permanent government run by the Bhatta-like people. Now, it is not odd in Nepal to say the political leaders and their cadres as thieves and dacoits as from day one they start politics, they start getting profit without investment. We know, almost all the political leaders and workers from major political parties about how they became multibillionaires overnight. Therefore, politics has become an attraction and all cunning and clever guys are running behind opening a new political party. The politics of morale, principle and ethics have already been ended and syndicate politics has been introduced. This syndicate system has been introduced by those corrupt leaders to run the government turn by turn. In the present five-party alliance, except for the Nepali Congress, the rest are the parties which are unable to secure a single seat. The main opposition party UML is another strong party. Until yesterday, UML had developed an election alliance with the Maoist Center and the joint Left front had formed the government under the leadership of K.P. Sharma Oli. The Left parties broke the alliance under Oli alleging him a regressive element and by forgetting all the communist principles, they decided to accept Sher Bahadur Deuba as their leader. Deuba thus became the prime minister for the fifth term. Unfortunately, the voters are happy to be sold at the price of a few pieces of meat, a few ships of drinks and rice for a few days before the election and being deceived for five years. With the voters having such a mentality, the political players are continuously exploiting the nation and the people. We cannot hope for a better result in the upcoming elections too.