Press and nation’s democracy rises and falls together!

The bad days for the democratic system now in place appears to have arrived. It has been our experience that as and when the establishment threatened the nation’s media, especially the private ones, dark clouds start hovering over the country. Recollect the fag end days of the last system, which summarily discarded the popular voice of the people and had to crumble. At the moment, some ministers in Girija’s cabinet have started some sort of misinformation warfare all aimed against the nation’s popular and independent media. To be precise, it is the minister of communication who has apparently been given the charge of insulting and maligning the ever growing prestige of the Nepalese media save those who enjoy funding from the state on one pretext or the other. Minister Gupta of late has begun a denunciation against the newspapers who have been informing the lay men and the informed citizenry regarding the Maoists activities vis-à-vis the government and vice versa. Gupta’s contention that a sizeable section of the media are taking sides of the Maoists and been propagating their insurgency in a manner that apparently served the "political interests" of the insurgents stands untenable. Minister Gupta’s dictum stands illogical for so many reasons. The minister should understand that the Nepali media did not help bringing in the Maoists insurgency in this peaceful nation at the first place. The Nepali media did not encourage the Maoists to initiate the carnage in Dolpa the other day. Rather we have denounced the killings of the innocent civilians by the insurgents and we will do so if the policemen kill the innocent lay men as they have done only recently in Birganj and Nawalparasi. He should also take into account that his own party men were yet to arrive at a common standpoint on looking at the insurgency. The journalist turned minister must also understand the fact that for the unbelievable spread of the insurgency within a short span of four years in the nation, it is the very whimsical, anti-people, non-performance, totally bad governance, direction less foreign policy, anti-national overtures, nepotism, corruption at the highest places in the political sector more so in the ruling party, non-ending power rivalry in the congress party for grabbing power and above all the anti-poor strategies of the party in power that have contributed to this sorry state of national affairs. Shifting the blames onto the heads of the innocent lots, media for example in this case, for one’s sheer inability is perhaps an easy task. However, to act in a responsible manner that takes greater interest of all the sections of the society is entirely different and an arduous task as well. The hard fact is that the congress government over these years has brought only troubles for the common men instead what should have been just the otherwise. In the process, the party in power not even spared its own top ranking stalwarts and educated its own lower rung party workers and the activists to engage in disrupting the political environment of the nation in one pretext or the other. The climax has been that the party in power currently stands in a total mess and the act of leg pulling is at its peak, which will perhaps continue till the impending Pokhara convention or predictably even more.

The press, honestly speaking, is performing its pious duty of informing the public about the government lapses at all fronts have bagged wide acclamations from the readers within and without. However, it should be the government’s prime duty to run the affairs of the state in a most efficient and impartial manner so that the "silent majority" could feel that the system has changed and the fruits of development were due to come to their doors. However, this was not forthcoming looking at the habits of the men at the helm of affairs of the Nepali establishment. The minister is thus advised not to hurl allegations onto the mediamen simply to cover up the government’s follies and the Himalayan failures at all fronts of the Nepalese life rather suggest his own party men and the men in the cabinet not to cut joke of the system for the restoration of which they too had contributed a little bit. The press has not become undemocratic as the minister claims rather the congress party must now prove of its democratic credentials. If the past ten years of congress’ performance were any indication, then it could be fairly said of the party that it is the congress and congress alone that has added up to the troubles onto the heads of the common men. The congress must accept this allegation as it is this party that has ruled the nation "mercilessly" for all along good nine years of the total eleven years of advent of this system.

It is time that the minister refrains from irritating the media men. He should keep in mind that "the press and the nation’s democracy rise and fall together". The message is loud and clear.

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