OFF THE RECORD (Spotlight Weekly)

‘Efforts Are Under Way To Undermine Independent Judiciary’

— LAXMAN PRASAD ARYAL

Senior justice of the Supreme Court LAXMAN PRASAD ARYAL spoke on the proposed Commission of Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) amendment bill tabled to allow the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate corruption in the court system. Justice Aryal opposed the bill at a program organized by SAARC-Law. Excerpts:

On the bill

Efforts are under way to grab the crown of an independent judiciary. One cannot put an independent judiciary under the fear of the Commission of Investigation of Abuse of Authority. If the court falls under such agency, the existence of the judiciary will lose its meaning.

On checking corruption in the court system

The proposed bill will only hurt the independence of the judiciary, which was gained after a five-decade-long struggle. In the name of controlling corruption, this is a design to interfere in the matters of the judiciary.

On weaknesses in the court

Justices and judges also have human weakness. How justifiable is it to put an independent judiciary under fear in the name of correcting human weaknesses? There are clear provisions in the judiciary in this regard and the constitution has laid down clear procedures on removing justice and judges.

Party Office Or PM’s Residence?

Although Baluwatar durbar is the official residence of the prime minister, Nepali Congress leaders are turning it into the central office of the party. In the last one and half years, the ruling party has chosen Baluwatar as the venue for central committee meetings. Holding party meetings at Baluwatar made sense when Girija Prasad Koirala was both party president and prime minister. But what’s the point of continuing the practice after the change of guards? While the people are understandably puzzled by this evident incongruity, Congress leaders seem to be enjoying Baluwatar ambience.

Nepal : Softening stance

Foes Turn Friends

In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies. Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala ran into CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal at Biratnagar airport decided to hold a half-hour meeting. But when the once die-hard adversaries hugged each other before leaving the airport, they left many bystanders flummoxed. The change in Nepal’s behavior was particularly strange, as he was the man who did everything he could to force Koirala to resign as prime minister. What new mantra turned our Marxist guru to soften his stance on the Congress hard-liner?

Shifting Stand

Nepalese political leaders are renowned for their doublespeak, particularly in their ability to use ifs and buts when in difficulty. In the left parties, almost all senior leaders don’t know when they will change their stand. Sometimes communist leaders change their point of view every few hours. CPN-UML leader K.P. Sharma Oli is especially adept in this art of transformation. Oli has changed his stand on major political issues more than two dozen times in a week. Why are calculated confusion and contradiction so typical of our communist leaders?

Futile Fatwa

The CPN-UML politburo meeting issued a fatwa to all its leaders to adhere to the party line. The party spokesman issued the fatwa after finding senior leaders violating official party policy in their public pronouncements. Even after the strict edict from UML spokesman Pradeep Nepal, senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and K.P. Sharma Oli continue to depart from the party line in their race for comradely supremacy. Who cares about rigid party edicts when you draw sustained applause from

your supporters?

Gag Order

Prime Sher Bahadur Deuba knows how to tame his flock. If he sees some restive Congress worker criticizing him, Deuba has many tools to respond with. When Congress MP Surendra Chaudhary fiercely opposed the rationale of the government’s land-distribution package, the prime minister ordered the party’s chief whip to punish Chaudhary by preventing him from speaking in parliament for the rest of the current session. For many, the Congress party undermined its democratic credentials by curtailing Chaudhary’s freedom of expression. Maybe in a country where democracy means everything to everyone, gag orders are part of the game.