Kathmandu, November 4
The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) has raised questions about the government’s working style, governance, human rights, alleged misuse of the police administration and the impartiality of the judiciary.
Speaking on behalf of the party at a meeting of the House of Representatives’ Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee, NCP lawmaker Balawati Sharma said journalists and even judges were living in fear. She questioned who was actually running the government.
Sharma raised 10 issues during the meeting.
1. Questions over governance and transparency
Sharma questioned the government’s commitment to good governance and transparency. She said a government that had come to power promising good governance, transparency and accountability had begun operating the state in a mysterious manner within six to eight months. She alleged that government decisions and activities lacked transparency.
2. Fear among citizens
She said an atmosphere of fear had spread among journalists, the private sector, businesspeople, civil servants, police personnel, political leaders and even the judiciary. She described the situation as a form of state terror.
3. Police intervention in media houses
Sharma questioned incidents in which police entered newsrooms and intervened in media operations, while the government subsequently claimed it had no knowledge of the actions. She demanded to know who had ordered the police to enter media offices.
4. Political interference in the police administration
She also raised concerns over changes in police leadership and pressure being exerted on the police administration. According to Sharma, the police were being turned from an institution meant to serve the state into an instrument for creating fear.
5. Insecurity and instability in the civil service
Sharma said civil servants were living in fear amid a situation in which officials could be removed or appointed at any time. She also referred to provisions 53 and 55 in raising concerns about insecurity within the bureaucracy.
6. Fear in the private sector
She said businesspeople and the private sector were also intimidated by the government’s working style. She questioned the practice of using state agencies to bring businesspeople under control and detain them.
7. Police action against government officials and personal freedom
Sharma objected to the detention of the chief of the Irrigation and Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project after he was summoned to the Prime Minister’s Office for questioning. She said police had arrested him and kept him in custody for two days, when the matter could have been handled through an administrative process.
She said that even if an official had committed wrongdoing, action should be taken in accordance with the law.
8. Questions over the Inam Sapkota case and leaked audio
Sharma also raised questions about the Inam Sapkota case and the public release of an audio recording involving him.
“How was the statement or audio of a person in custody made public? Who released the audio, and who will be held accountable?” she asked.
She also sought clarification on reports that Inam Sapkota’s mobile phone had been found at the residence of a prime ministerial adviser and that messages on the phone had been deleted.
Sharma said the government had yet to explain the circumstances surrounding publicly circulated photographs of ministers and their alleged connections to the case.
9. Demand for an impartial investigation into questions involving the Supreme Court and judges
Sharma called for an impartial investigation into questions raised about the Supreme Court and members of the judiciary, from the chief justice to other judges.
She said anyone found guilty should face action, but investigations should not be used to force people out of office or place everyone under suspicion indiscriminately.
She also questioned which body would be responsible for conducting an investigation under the law, following a decision by the Supreme Court’s full court to initiate an inquiry.
10. Concerns over impeachment proceedings and government operations
Sharma raised concerns about the impeachment process involving judges and the possibility of an investigation through the House of Representatives, stressing the need for an impartial process.
She questioned whether the government was being run by the people of Nepal or was being controlled from elsewhere.
Sharma called on the government to stop using state institutions to intimidate citizens, media organisations, civil servants and the private sector in its name.
She also urged an impartial investigation into the Inam Sapkota case and questions surrounding the judiciary, and called for greater transparency and accountability in government decisions, activities and the overall process of governing the country.
