By Our Reporter
Every Prime Minister immediately after his appointment in Nepal makes commitment to adopt a policy of zero tolerance for corruption. But in practice, it is often otherwise.
The present government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal not only announced its policy of zero tolerance for corruption but also came into action by investigating the case related to fake Bhutanese refugees and jailing a few powerful politicians, including former Home Minister and NC leader Bal Krishna Khand and CPN-UML secretary and former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi. The government also opened the file on the Lalita Niwas land scam and arrested a few, including former ministers and business tycoons. It also seized 60 kg of gold smuggled through the TIA and booked several individuals including a few Chinese nationals.
However, its anti-corruption drive has weakened over the weeks, only because the government started arresting the individuals involved in corruption and gold smuggling with firm foot intended to save them as many powerful politicians are found connected with the incidents. Arzu Rana, the wife of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba is reported to have been involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam while former Prime Minister duo Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Madhav Kumar Nepal are linked with the Lalita Niwas land case and Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Barsha Man Pun are linked with the Chinese nationals involved in smuggling gold into Nepal from Hong Kong.
Obviously, Prime Minister Dahal does not dare to jail Dr. Bhattarai and Nepal. He does not dare to irk Deuba because if Deuba becomes angry, the present coalition will collapse. He does not want to arrest Pun and Mahara of his own party. He has no option but to weaken the investigation and cases to avoid the arrest of the leaders. This was evident from the transfer of the police officers investigating the fake Bhutanese refugee case. When the police officers started a process to grill two of the convicts again, Arzu feared whether they would name her in the case, and she personally met PM Dahal and exerted pressure on him through her husband to transfer the police officers.
PM Dahal followed the instructions and transferred the competent police officers. By agreeing to transfer the police officers, Dahal also wanted to avert the arrest of Mahara and Pun in the gold smuggling case, because a few NC leaders have been asking him why Mahara was spared. The government has already weakened the Lalita Niwas land case by filing cases on cheating instead of forgery of government documents only to save some leaders including Bijay Gachchhadar of the NC.
Thus, it may not be a wonder, if all those arrested in different cases get released soon and get clean chit.
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