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| Kathmandu, Thursday May 02, 2002 Baishakh 19, 2059. |
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Law of public life
Just around the time when the government has
brought forward legislation to curb corruption, it faces a crucial test. Is it serious
about taking actions against those found prima facie guilty of corruption or
irregularities? In fact, some members of parliament had even suggested that those facing
trial quit at once and remain out of posts until declared innocent by the court. Although
the legislation passed by parliament does not incorporate this idea, and leaves the issue
to the ‘conscience’ of the person accused, people holding public posts cannot
totally ignore the norms of probity in public life.
The Loan Information Bureau (LIB) of the Nepal
Bankers Association has put Assistant Minister for Water Resources Birendra Kumar
Kanaudiya on its black list for his failure to repay the loans, which he had taken from
the Rastriya Banijya Bank and other financial institutions. An industrial house has also
been indicted for the same reason by the association, and natural consequences will
follow. Both the Minister and the industrial house have absolute right to challenge the
LIB decision and take it to the court. But until that happens, the Minister will be
labelled a defaulter. And someone who has defaulted the public money should not be holding
a public post. The bank loan had been procured by the Minister for industrial expansion in
the name of Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills based in Kapilvastu. Now the Minister’s role has
become more dubious as Binod Chaudhary, president of the industrial group on the
blacklist, has said that his group is no more associated with the Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills.
The Minister needs to clarify his position immediately and quit the post until the court
absolves him.
The last session of parliament saw many moves in
the name of curbing corruption. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority
is going to be armed with wider powers, while a separate arrangement has been made for
dealing with corruption in judiciary. At least two ministers - Gopal Man Shrestha and
Surendra Hamal - had to quit their posts following corruption charges levelled against
each other by them. Whatever be the political fallout of stringent action against
corruption, it’s always worth taking the risk. In normal circumstances, Minister
Kanaudiya should not even be waiting for pressure from the opposition, or the public to
quit the post. LIB’s order, now made public, should have pricked his conscience and
led him to do the needful for upholding the dignity of the office he holds. As that looks
remote, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba needs to exercise his authority and make the
Minister resign. Of course, he has the authority as well as the responsibility to sack the
blacklisted Minister. If the Prime Minister fails to do that, his intentions behind having
the anti-corruption legislation would come under serious doubt, and rightly so. The
failure to act against Kanaudiya will in fact amount to putting the entire ministry on the
blacklist in the eyes of public. |
