By Narayan Prasad Mishra
We all love democracy because, in principle, democracy guarantees equality, justice, human rights, and the various types of fundamental rights. It believes in the rule of law. In true democracy, no one would be above the law. Law is supreme.
From the above points, it is clear that all are equal in democracy whether the person is a low or high in position – peon of the office or the President, the head of the nation. All have equal rights. All are bound to the Constitution and the laws of the land. All are bound to be punished when they commit crimes and are involved in corruption.
Even though our people in power, whether they are bureaucrats or politicians, seem to feel they are above the law and are not bound to be punished. It seems that people are not scared about getting punished by being involved in corruption. Almost every day, we hear about the cases of irregularities and corruption. The corruption at the local level and in the public-related offices seems like a regular process.
There were three pieces of news about corruption on June 6, 2024 – one about the case in the Land Office in Bardiya, the second one about the Godawari Municipality, Lalitpur, and the third one about the Sahid Nagar Municipality, Dhanusha. There may be much more that I did not notice. In a democracy, the question of whether to punish the person who commits a crime does not arise. One must be punished for committing a crime. That should be understandable where there is a real democracy.
The government represents the governing body of the country, established to govern the nation and its people in the best possible manner, with high moral and ethical standards under the Constitution and laws. In these circumstances, the government is expected to act decisively against corruption without hesitation. There should be no discretionary power granted to the government – the President, prime minister, or ministers regarding the handling of corruption files. However, in Nepal, the government seems to have unchecked authority.
Most surprisingly, we often hear in our country about hiding, opening, and closing corruption files. We hear about these things in the parliament as if that is also the area or the scope of discretion vested in somebody. It looks funny to me. On June 3, 2024, Manish Jha, the parliamentarian of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, announced in the parliament that his party was going to open the corruption files of – the Balmandir Land, Basbari Land, Tikapur Land, and also the corruption files of the Bhutanese Refugee, Giribandhu, and Teramix. When he announced it, it seemed like he was brave enough to speak it.
On the other hand, the opposition party, the Nepali Congress Parliamentarian Bishwa Prakash Sharma, presented his opinion regarding the Giribandhu Corruption Case in the parliament on June 6, 2024, that Rabi Lamichhsne, the Home Minister and the leader of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, would not have the courage even to speak against the Girbandhu Corruption Case. He would never expect him to open the file. To me, as the opposition leader parliamentarian of that time, he should have pressured the then Home Minister Lamichhane to open the file instead of saying he would not expect him to open it because that should be the regular duty of a minister, not his discretionary power. A minister who does not fulfill his duty should not have the right to stay in a position of power.
Corruption is like a disease that spreads in societies all over the world. It makes people lose trust in their governments, slows down economic growth, and weakens the way democratic countries work. Governments are supposed to protect their people and make sure everyone follows the rules. They’re like guardians of a country’s well-being, taking care of public money and making sure things are fair. Corruption comes in different forms, such as bribery, favoritism, nepotism, and stealing money meant for public use. It’s a big problem for good governance and democracy. To keep things fair, governments need to follow the law and treat everyone equally, no matter who they are. Corruption files should not be a point of discussion about whether to hide, open, or close. They should always be open and should be taken to punish the corrupt without delay despite the position – high or low. I hope the new government will take this issue seriously if they love democracy.
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