On/Off the record
By P.R. Pradhan
From where should I start the stories of perversion that have pushed the nation on the verge of collapse?
All characteristics such as kleptocracy, sycophancy, favouritism, nepotism, etc., dominate the society. There is daylight loot in the country. Lawmakers are trying to bring a law for forgiving those involved in corruption after spending five years in power.
President Ramchandra Paudel didn’t trust our medical experts and hospitals and went to Delhi for treatment. A large number of family members accompanied him by taking daily allowances provided by the government for them. This is daylight loot on the government coffer by misusing the facilities provided for the VIPs. Many mini-kings have appeared after dethroning one king. Just to recall history, the kings of Nepal had undergone medical treatment in Nepal. They encouraged the morale of the Nepali medical experts and trust in the local hospitals. But the mini kings are visiting abroad even when they suffer from minor health problems demoralizing local medical experts and neglecting local hospitals. The President’s medical visit to India has taken at a time when the nation is facing a serious financial crisis.
Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal, who is unable to give final shape to his cabinet for more than four months, decided to distribute two hundred thousand rupees to each physically unfit “People’s Liberation Army” personnel spending billions of rupees from the state coffer. The decision has been taken at a time when the government is taking domestic and foreign debts for managing salaries for the civil servicemen as the government revenue is below the general sector expenditure.
PM Dahal, who is still carrying the “people’s war” hangover, declared a national holiday recalling the “people’s war” day neglecting the entire population’s aspirations.
Today, the President, ex-presidents, prime minister, ministers, MPs, provincial authorities and local bodies including the ward chairs and ward members enjoy salary and allowances. Earlier, politics was considered as a service rendered to the nation, now, politics has become an occupation and business done without investment.
In the name of economic liberalization and a free market economy, the politicians disposed of all the factories, including those factories paying good revenue to the government and providing employment to thousands of people. Moreover, many profit making government undertakings were ruined after the politicians made them party workers’ recruitment center.
Prestigious educational institutions including Tribhuvan University have become the party workers recruitment center, due to which, they have been ruined.
Big political parties have developed a syndicate mechanism and sharing posts even in constitutional bodies. When the members of the syndicate differed from their vested interests, the post of the Supreme Court chief justice remained vacant for above 15 months. Since CJ Cholendra Shumsher Rana faced an impeachment case and was suspended from the post, the government is unable to assign a new CJ. Rana is not a single victim of the present system. Earlier, when the interests of the executive chief and the chief justice clashed, then CJ Shshila Karki also faced an impeachment case. Accordingly, when Lokmansingh Karki, the then chief of the Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority (CIAA) planned to catch big fish (corrupts), he also faced an impeachment case. Once, the impeachment case is filed against the constitutional chiefs, Parliament should finalise the issue within three months. But Cholendra Shumsher Rana is yet to get a final decision on the impeachment case filed against him. The big political parties are performing anarchism and autocratic attitude in the name of “loktantra”.
In conclusion, if we continue to practice the present political system, which is popularly known as loot-tantra, the nation is going to collapse shortly.
Login to add a comment