NC, UML accuse govt of backtracking on norms of democracy and freedom of expression

Speaking at a program organized by the Reporters’ Club Nepal on Friday, NC joint general secretary Shiwakoti accused the government of trying to control those criticizing the government.

He said that he had received a complaint at the Cyber Bureau while he was abroad and on the basis of that, he called the police and put pressure on him to remove the content written about the Prime Minister, his advisors and people close to him.

“When I am not in Kathmandu or in Nepal, a complaint was filed with the Cyber Bureau. On the basis of the complaint filed with the Cyber Bureau, the police call me and ask me to remove the content written about the Prime Minister, his advisers and the people around him. They are pressuring him to compromise even when he is taking a political stand on it,” he said.

He asked what kind of situation the general public must have to face when such behavior is being meted out to the office-bearers of the political parties. He said that the situation of freedom of expression was also evident from the incidents of police reaching the media house and taking the journalists under control.

‘If the government is doing this to an office-bearer level person of a political party, what is it doing to the common people? You and we can easily guess,” he said.

Shiwakoti said that democracy is not limited to the formation of government and transfer of power through elections. Accusing the increasing interference in state bodies, constitutional bodies, media and bureaucracy, he said that the government’s working style has raised questions on democratic norms and values.

He also commented that there was a lack of coordination between the government and the ruling party, Rastriya Swatantra Party.

According to him, the views of the government and the party in the media incidents were not in sync with each other.

“There should have been coordination between the government and the party running the government, but it does not seem to have happened. There is no correlation between the clarification from the government and the statement issued by the spokesperson on behalf of the party,” he said.

Similarly, CPN-UML politburo member Thakur Prasad Gaire said that the talk of the fall of the government within a few months of the formation of the government with a two-thirds majority is a serious matter in itself. He said that the ruling party and the government should answer the questions raised on the stability of the government.

“It has not been seven to eight months since the government was formed, why talk about the fall of the government? When there is a government of the same political party with a two-thirds majority, what is the reason that the government will fall today and fall tomorrow should be the primary topic of the national debate?” he asked.

Gaire claimed that if the current government falls, the main reason for it will be the Rashtriya Swatantra Party and the government itself. Stating that the government will not fall due to the number of seats of the UML or the Congress, he said that the government could be in crisis due to its own incompetence and incompetence.

‘If this government collapses today, if the Prime Minister is changed, the only main reason for it will be the RSP and the government itself. It is because of him that this government will fall and the prime minister will change,” he said.

He accused the incumbent government of being weak in terms of nationality, democracy, livelihood, peace and security and independence of the judiciary. He criticized the government’s working style by linking the price hike of daily essentials in the market, the mismanagement of road transport and the problems faced by the disaster affected people.

Stating that the electricity bills of the people affected by the floods have been washed away by the floods, he said that the victims are compelled to agitate for redressal of their problems. Raising the issue of the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to India, Gaire said that the visit should be made only by putting forth a clear view on the issues of national self-respect and border disputes.

“Before the Prime Minister’s visit to India, he said in the parliament that Nepal has also encroached on the border of India in many places, will you go to India and go to India? Or will someone take any land of Nepal saying that it is the land encroached by India, you have been brought back?” he asked.

He stressed the need to put forth clear views on Nepal’s land and national pride.