Bell the wild cats!

Nepali democracy is definitely under tremendous strain and deep trouble. The numerous aberrations that have clutched the country of late were all albeit the creations of those political actors who remained instrumental in the restoration of this arrangement and have ruled the nation at some time or the other after the advent of the system itself. The men manning the system must shoulder the blame if some thing goes wrong with the order, sooner or later, for it is this lot and this lot only whose sheer follies have pushed the nation to this bewildered state. The side effects of their non-performance and mal-governance were already there in the form of common men’s total nonchalance towards not only the politicians of the nation but to the system as well. No body had expected that the system-considered one of the best systems prevailing in the world-would lose its fragrance, beauty and even the suitability for this Himalayan Kingdom so soon of its arrival here. However, this is a fact. Candidly speaking, the leaders have given the existing system a very bad name to the extent that the common denizens would perhaps not shed a drop of tears if the system were scrapped summarily one fine morning. However, let us not be that much pessimistic as so many things could be accomplished given the leaders act with dedication and honesty which is what was totally absent in our so-called Nepali leaders.

This notwithstanding, the fact is that the leaders have challenged disgustingly the very basic norms and the values of democracy through their unacceptable acts and inadmissible behaviors that people find it extremely difficult to expect good manners from them any more. The manner the government under Koirala brazenly neglected and in essence rejected the Public Accounts Committee’s directives issued suggesting the concerned Civil Aviation ministry and the Royal Nepal Airliner not to proceed with the LAUDA AIR DEAL could simply be said that the government cares little the provisions of the constitution and possesses practically no regard for the timely suggestions of one of the functioning organs of the parliament. In bypassing the PACs instructions regarding the controversial air deal the establishment under Koirala proved that whatever he and his cabinet decided assumed the force of a law and that no other institutions, howsoever competent that might be in its own right, need bring in hurdles that opposed their decisions-good or bad. The fact is that in so doing the Koirala regime has cut a cruel joke on the democratic system itself whose parallel perhaps could be found no where in the comity of democratic nations.

At best what the Prime Minister did is that a lean, thin and sick Don Quixotic sort of person was made the scapegoat who is at the moment facing trials. The fact is that no such junior level personality as Mr. Shrestha could take decisions on such a huge deal as that of the Lauda Air. The fact presumably is that there is the possibility of a person or a group of persons including the cabinet members who could be behind the whole ugly and shameful episode and ultimately might have prompted Chairman Shrestha to proceed with the deal come what may. Such clandestine deals have all become pretty common in Nepal since 1990 and that every time such sad events occur, it is the state that loses astronomical amount. The Himalayan tragedy is that the people only listen to such scandals but never get opportunity to see the men involved in such brazen corrupt practices being penalized. Instead, what has been the Nepali experience is that those rotten-eggs are blissfully elevated to some higher ranks wherein they yet again squeeze the institution in the manner mentioned above.

It is in this light we appreciate and admire the courage of Madhav Kumar Nepal-the leader of the Opposition, the UML, who only recently voiced that those found guilty in this scandal, is severely penalized. In fact the leader of the opposition went to the extent that Prime Minister Koirala, if found having any connection in this Lauda Air deal should face "impeachment". Whether the leader of the main opposition meant business in what he said or were it a ploy just to bag accolades from his activists or from the common men at large perhaps only the Almighty knows.

Hopefully, scandals of the Lauda sorts should be in the pipeline. All that we (the people) have to do is to wait for such scandals to happen and to note in our writing pads yet another good name(s) who could have cleverly framed the clandestine deal to meet his or her or collective benefits.

All said and done, ‘we the people’ eagerly wait the courage of the Commission of Investigation for the Abuse of Authority with which it proceeds in this matter. Though we don’t expect much from the Commission for obvious reasons, yet a ray of hope is there that forces us to conclude that the Commission will go deeper to catch the bigger ‘fish’ rather that penalizing the mere "scapegoat" that is Mr. Shrestha. The wild cats in the cabinet or for that matter in the Royal Nepal Airliner must be severely punished. But who will bell those wild cats? Is the Himalayan question indeed. That’s all.

Headline | National | 5 Question  | 2nd Impression | International | Past |