Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa has questioned the working style of the current government, warning that the tendency to run state agencies on the basis of personal orders could undermine the country’s democratic system.
Speaking at a press meet organized at the party’s central office in Lalitpur on Sunday, Thapa outlined the party’s position on the government’s recent actions, press freedom, police deployment, investigative procedures and judicial independence.
“The government’s authority derives from the law. Problems will arise when people in government start believing that their wishes are the law,” Thapa said. “A small group appears to have started believing that it alone constitutes the state. State agencies are not offices meant to carry out their private orders.”
Comparing the entry of police personnel into the offices of several media outlets and the arrest of journalists to the royal regime, Thapa demanded an impartial investigation and action against those responsible.
“The arrest, differing statements issued by police, the response from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and discussions surrounding a list of journalists facing arrest have made the incident more serious,” he said. “The government’s actions in entering media offices and arresting journalists in an unauthorized manner are not something that can be dismissed easily.”
Thapa also said the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which is leading the government, can not evade its political responsibility. He argued that it was inappropriate for the party to claim credit for the government’s achievements while placing responsibility for controversial decisions solely on the prime minister.
“When the government does something good, the RSP takes credit. But when questions are raised about something, is it the prime minister alone who is responsible? he asked.
Thapa also objected to the practice of deploying police on government orders to take officials into custody directly from their workplaces. He argued that using police at the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office to detain officials, despite the existence of legally mandated agencies and procedures for investigating and taking action against them, had raised questions about the rule of law.
“There is a difference between the rule of law and rule by law. The rule of law means that not only citizens but also the government must abide by the law. Rule by law, on the other hand, means using the law as a weapon to serve one’s own interests,” he said.
Thapa said efforts to control corruption must not weaken legal procedures or institutional systems.
“The NC will support anti-corruption campaigns. But investigations must be impartial, evidence-based and conducted equally against everyone,” he added.
Calling for a thorough investigation into cases involving middlemen, Thapa warned that selective investigations would erode public trust in the state.
Thapa also said questions concerning judicial independence needed to be taken seriously. “We have read reports suggesting that the executive’s preferences regarding cases pending before the courts have been conveyed by invoking the Prime Minister’s Office. This raises concerns about the judiciary’s impartiality and independence,” he added.
Thapa said that the NC was ready to engage with all political parties on comprehensive reforms to the judiciary and constitutional institutions.
“NC will support economic reform bills if the government brings them to Parliament,” he said. “As the largest party in the National Assembly and the main opposition in the House of Representatives, the NC is ready to help make parliament more effective.”
Thapa acknowledged that the current government had received a mandate to govern for five years. “But NC also has the mandate to remain in opposition for five years and hold the government accountable,” he added.
