Kathmandu, November 4
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), a ruling coalition partner, has repeatedly raised concerns and issued warnings and directives to the government, but its calls have largely gone unheeded.
The party has expressed concern over activities it considers outside democratic norms. However, Prime Minister Balen Shah appears to have paid little attention to its interventions.
On July 13, vehicles were parked in front of media houses, business establishments and the residence of the Nepali Congress president, obstructing access. The incident reportedly involved individuals with links to the government.
Soon after reports emerged that vehicles had been parked at the gates of media houses, RSP General Secretary Bipin Acharya issued a statement drawing the government’s attention to the matter. He urged authorities to identify and take action against those involved in obstructing media organisations by parking vehicles at their entrances.
Vehicles were parked at the gates of Onlinekhabar, Himalaya Television and Kantipur, allegedly by individuals close to the government. People close to Prime Minister Shah defended the action, saying it was a response to media organisations’ position in favour of open-space parking following the self-immolation of Ganesh Nepali in front of the Department of Passports.
While people close to the prime minister justified the obstruction, the RSP opposed it. Acharya said independent and fearless journalism was the lifeblood of democracy.
“The Rastriya Swatantra Party is always committed to protecting it. Therefore, the party condemns these and any other actions intended to intimidate the press,” the statement said.
RSP said suspicious and unexplained activities aimed at undermining the environment in which media organisations and journalists, as the fourth pillar of the state, could work fearlessly amounted to a direct violation of democratic values.
Concerned about the treatment of the media, the RSP had urged the government to take action against those involved.
“We draw the serious attention of the Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the concerned security agencies to ensure the physical and psychological security of media organisations and immediately identify anyone involved in such suspicious activities and take action in accordance with the law,” the statement said.
Despite the party’s intervention, the Balen-led government made no apparent effort to investigate the incident or take action against those responsible. Individuals close to Prime Minister Shah’s chief adviser Kumar Ben and Home Minister Sudan Gurung were among those allegedly involved in parking vehicles to obstruct media houses.
Even after media organisations identified the vehicle owners and provided the information to the authorities, no action was initiated.
The vehicles parked at the entrances of Onlinekhabar, Himalaya Television and Kantipur bore registration numbers Ba 12 Cha 8545, Ba 2 Cha 1255 and Ba Pradesh 01-034 Cha 8480, respectively.
The vehicle parked at the Kantipur Publications gate belonged to former RSP Central Investigation and Documentation Department member Ravi Jaiswal. The vehicle parked outside Onlinekhabar was registered in the name of Sunil Poudel, who runs an eye clinic in Gokarneshwar.
The government showed little urgency in identifying the owners of the vehicles and taking action.
The same pattern was repeated last week, when security personnel entered media houses and manhandled journalists. Journalist Bishwamani Subedi of Nepal Press was taken into custody and later released. Police also went to the office of Naya Patrika to detain one of its journalists without an arrest warrant.
On October 30, police arrested Shobharaj Baral, editor of Motivate News, and Dhiraj Basnet, editor-in-chief of DNA Khabar.
The government’s response to the incident was even more irresponsible. The prime minister’s secretariat sought to distance Shah from the matter, saying he had not been informed about the journalists’ arrests. The police administration, meanwhile, claimed that the journalists had been detained at the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The RSP immediately objected to the arrests and the entry of security personnel into media houses. On October 30, party leaders issued a series of social media posts reiterating their support for complete press freedom.
The party also called an emergency secretariat meeting. Concluding that the actions of the police administration were unconstitutional, it directed the government to investigate the incident and take action against those responsible.
The meeting’s decision stated, “Some activities reportedly carried out by the police administration in the media sector on October 30, which is considered a pillar of a strong and accountable democracy, are contrary to the Constitution and the party’s core ideals. The Rastriya Swatantra Party directs the government to immediately identify and investigate those who issued irresponsible orders and take strict action against them.”
Once again, the government ignored the party’s directive. Instead of addressing the decision, Prime Minister Shah’s chief adviser Kumar Ben made light of the issue on social media. The government shifted attention elsewhere without investigating the journalists’ arrests or the entry of security personnel into media offices.
The government also ignored the party’s concerns over a controversial audio recording involving lawmaker Khagendra Sunar.
On October 13, Acharya issued a statement urging the government to recognise the seriousness of the recording and ensure an investigation.
“We are confident that the relevant state agencies will promptly conduct an independent, impartial and fact-based investigation. We pledge the party’s full cooperation in the investigation process undertaken by state agencies,” the statement said.
However, no investigation into the Sunar audio controversy was initiated by the government.
