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Kathmandu Saturday November 11, 2000 Kartik 26 2057.
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Misleading protest
rallies
Organizing of protest rallies over the
recent price hike of petroleum products started in France and is still going strong in
Nepal. The French solved it, but the Britons are still giving sleepless nights to their
Prime Minister to lower the tax on fuel. And, our opposition parties in Nepal have, as
usual, devised a noble way of further aggravating the hike impact on national economy by
declaring bandh for 2 days in Nov 15 and 16.
Short of other pressing issues, opposition
parties in Nepal picked it as a weapon to rally together to capitalize on ever-expanding
internal feuds present in NC government. Especially, the communist parties are in the
street neck and neck denouncing this hike, carrying torch rallies despite the ban on it.
This may lead to a long drawn confrontation with the government.
In western nations, pressure groups, not
political parties, began pressing OPEC member countries indirectly by organizing protest
rallies against their respective governments. And, somehow this is working. But, it is
directed in a completely opposite direction in Nepal. Opposition parties are using this
cause with the objective of achieving two different goals. One, they want to tarnish the
reputation of the present government. Second, they want to use it to gain in the next
elections.
It is well known that Mr Madhav Kumar
Nepal, Mr Pashupati Shumsher JBR and chiefs of nine leftist parties of Nepal and their
cadres know that organizing these rallies is useless and costly as price rise contributing
factors are beyond our control. It is a fact that we have to import petroleum products
from overseas countries paying hard currency. The matter is getting worse as our value of
currency is depreciating almost every month.
If our opposition parties have sense of
urgency and responsibilities towards their nation, they must organize and continue protest
rallies until Nepal Oil Corporation makes its activity transparent and its book of
accounts is properly maintained and audited within this year. Otherwise, we have to end
its monopoly and invite private players in the petroleum industry for good.
As PAC member Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani
rightly put it "the main problem with NOC is not the price hike in the international
market but corruption, irregularities, adulteration and leakage." This problem lies
in NOC itself.
Birendra D Shrestha
Kathmandu |
