Himal Press 
Nepali Congress Senior Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma speaking at a press meet in Lalitpur on Wednesday.
KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress (NC) has concluded that the government is becoming increasingly arbitrary and authoritarian and is attempting to silence the voices of citizens and the opposition.
An emergency meeting of the party’s office-bearers on Wednesday concluded that the government was seeking to suppress citizen and opposition voices raised against its unconstitutional actions.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Senior Vice-President Bishwa Prakash Sharma said opaque decisions, crackdowns on journalists and attempts to control constitutional bodies had exposed the government’s undemocratic character.
Sharma also said that even journalists were no longer safe under the current circumstances.
“Before you ask me anything today, I want to ask you a question,” he told journalists. “Are you safe at present? Are you able to do your job without fear?”
He said the benchmark of democracy in any country was not elections but a free press. Sharma also claimed that the party was facing conspiracies and attacks for speaking out against the government’s wrongdoings.
Stating that the NC had faced similar challenges repeatedly during its 80-year history, the party said it would resist them through both political and legal means.
“The NC firmly resists, through both political and legal means, any deliberate attempts to defame the party, control the press and interfere with state institutions,” said a statement issued by party General Secretary Pradeep Paudel. “The party will confront conspiracies driven by malicious intent to defame it through both political and legal means.”
The party has said that it will initiate necessary legal consultations under the leadership of Vice-President Pushpa Bhusal. “Necessary parliamentary initiatives will be taken under the leadership of Bhishmaraj Angdembe on behalf of the parliamentary party,” it added.
The NC said a series of revelations in the Inam Sapkota case had exposed the misuse of state institutions involving the prime minister and senior government officials.
“Reports have emerged about officials acting at the direct involvement and direction of the prime minister’s chief adviser, who misused the Prime Minister’s Office, seizing control of phones, destroying evidence and engaging in communications in the manner of a state-protected syndicate,” the statement said. “These developments demonstrate how independent state institutions are being weaponized to serve the interests of those in power.”
The party also alleged that individuals associated with the prime minister and the Prime Minister’s Office had exercised unauthorized control over a person in custody and tampered with evidence.
“Reports have emerged that individuals associated with the prime minister and the Prime Minister’s Office exercised unauthorized control over a person in custody in connection with an investigation and tampered with evidence. The removal of the IGP is the latest development in this series of events,” the party said.
The NC has demanded an independent, impartial, lawful and credible investigation into the Inam Sapkota case and all other incidents involving the misuse of state machinery for unauthorized and illegal activities.
It also claimed that allegations levelled against party President Gagan Thapa, along with audio recordings and publicity surrounding the issue, were baseless and fabricated.
