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Dr Khagendra N Sharma opened our eyes to a possible corruption-scandal through his article, "They are looting the country" (TKP, July 4). He states that the Finance Ministry "is going to pay out Rs 1 million each to the 330 ex-members of the Legislature-Parliament." In letters to the editor, two concerned gentlemen responded. Ram Dayal Rakesh suggested that the money In an article (Lethal freefall, TKP, July 15), Dr Hari Bansha Dulal has rightly poured scorn on Dr Ram Sharan Mahat. "We have a finance minister, who talks about fiscal responsibility and financial restraint, but runs finance ministry like a drunken sailor. He wants to exhibit his sense of entitlement on national coffer by disbursing 330 million to the ex-members of the Legislature-Parliament". In most other democratic countries, by now the finance minister would have given a satisfactory explanation to the public. Failing that, he would have apologized; or his head would have rolled. However, in our fatalism-oriented, Vedic land of the Pashupatinath and the Buddha, anything goes. Comments by the four writers (mentioned above) haven’t caused our veteran finance minister to blush. He hopes that his silence will prevail, and the public’s short memory will work to his advantage. Conscientious citizens of our impoverished country shouldn’t allow this. First, I ask our finance minister, Dr Mahat, to let the public know what in the world is going on. Has he already doled out Rs 1 million each to the ex-MPs? Is he in the process of doing it? If so, he should give us his exact reasons, why that enormous amount of money shouldn’t go to the victims of the 10 year conflict, to black-topping the Surkhet-Jumla road, or some other worthy project. In the absence of any explanation from Dr Mahat, the public believes that his grant of money to the ex-MPs buys Nepali Congress (NC) popularity for the future. Most of these former parliamentarians have lost in the CA poll, but they can get in when an election occurs again. In politics, tides turn unexpectedly, as Gyanendra Shah, all powerful a few years ago, has found to his discomfort. Perhaps, Dr Mahat expects the Rs 1 million-favoured, non-NC, former MPs to join his party later on. What role did Girijababu play in this? Has he approved of the backdoor bonus in spite the Supreme Court’s negative order? Recently, that Court complained about the PM’s office’s disobedience to approximately 40 of its orders. Certainly, this does not bode well for the rule of law or the supremacy of the Court. It’s no surprise that that impunity reigns in our country because the PM himself has encouraged it. For example, foresters have complained that Girijababu phoned them personally, ordering them to release arrested culprits responsible for illegal logging. Yet, the octogenarian PM lectures the nation often on the rule of law. Thus, Matrika Yadav has blamed Girijababu for the rape of the forests, though he overlooks his own generosity to Maoist squatters. Second, concerned citizens should keep this backdoor-bonus issue alive. In medical treatment as well as fight against corruption, prevention is better than cure. Dr Sharma has already stressed the political immorality of the deal. It shouldn’t go through. Dr Pande asks why the leaders of the civil society keep quiet. Is it because some of them are either too close to Dr Mahat and have presided over the release of his book, "In Defence of Democracy"? (In this tome, Dr Mahat mourns also the grant of 75000 pounds sterling by Sher Bdr Deuba’s government for the treatment of Helen Shah, Gyanendra’s relative, living overseas. Now, it’s Deuba’s turn to chide Mahat!) Investigative journalism should work on the double on this subject. Journalists can get to the root of the matter by interviewing some ex-MPs likely to benefit from the finance minister’s generosity with the nation’s wealth. If the finance minister still remains silent after the journalists’ investigative work, patriotic lawyers should take over. As they succeeded to move the Supreme Court to halt the grant before, they should put in a similar petition now. Like Girijababu, Dr Mahat has a knack of doing what he wants, in spite of the public disapproval. In July, 2007, eight-party youths, the civil society, and intellectuals like Dr Sundar Mani Dixit had protested against any budget-allocation for the palace. (All these are silent now! Loktantric fatigue?) For some time, the public believed that Mahat had set aside nothing for the royals. In the parliament, Dr Mahat succeeded giving the same impression. However, on July 13, 2007, all learnt that Mahat, using the backdoor, had granted Rs 12.5 crores to the king. Provided our lawyers move the Supreme Court in time to prevent the bonus-distribution for the ex-MPs, Dr Mahat can do something similar now. Lastly, the time has come for Dr Mahat to take a rest from the country’s finances. Having stayed long on the job, he knows only too well which moves (wrong at times but advantageous to the NC) to take. He has grown over-confident, almost invulnerable. The future government will be wise to choose someone else as the finance minister. No person can claim to be indispensable, especially after attempts to play with the country’s scarce resources. As usual in Nepali politics and finances, we always have the enviable choice between thieves and robbers. Perhaps, the Maoist-led government can make a difference. The Maoist-appointed finance minister may perform economic miracles, provided s/he too doesn’t award backdoor bonuses to YCL goons. This article was publsihed in TKP in July 18 2008 Newer...
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