Whenever we get exasperated with Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s reticence and reclusiveness, we just have to remind ourselves of the past 20 years of three-party rule. In this space we could not conceal our disgust with their greed, power hunger and complete disregard for the welfare of citizens.
Before it all fades from national consciousness, let us remind ourselves of the fake refugee scandal, the various real estate scams and the plunder by politicians and their cronies. These stories were investigated and exposed by the mainstream press and fed the public anger that erupted in the September Storm last year.
Which is why most Nepalis want to give the government elected by a near two third majority two months ago the benefit of doubt. But the signs are not good.
During the partyless Panchayat system (1961-1990) there were two governments in Nepal. Narayanhiti Palace was where all the power was, and Singha Darbar was a rubber stamp. There is a sense of déjà vu with decision-making concentrated at the PMO, while Prime Minister Shah ignores Parliament, gives orders to the Cabinet and even bypasses his own RSP. And just like back then the king’s advisers were the de facto government, the prime minister’s geeks are ordering people around.
All this does not bode well for the country’s future stability, and even less so for the RSP. The rift between the Balen boys (and girls) in the Cabinet and technocrats appointed by party chair Rabi Lamichhane is spilling out into the open. One hand of government does not seem to know, or care, what the other is doing.
This is having geopolitical repercussions. Lamichhane and Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal are having to mop up the mess left by the prime minister and his off-the-cuff remarks and decisions.
The reinstatement of Sudan Gurung as Home Minister was not a surprise. The investigation committee was akin to a fox guarding the chicken coop, and his clean chit over undeclared assets and shares in a fraudulent micro-insurance scheme was preordained. Back in his powerful portfolio, his first puzzling decision to reopen the investigation into the royal massacre 25 years ago sounded to many like an attempt to deflect attention from the skeletons in his own closet.
Contrast this to the prime minister sacking Labour Minister Deepak Sah barely two a month into office for a much more inconsequential misdemeanor, and it is proof of his ad hoc and impetuous governance style.
CONFLICT OF INTREST
As home minister, Sudan Gurung now oversees the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), the very agency supposed to investigate his involvement in the 8-9 September violence as recommendated by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). More intriguingly, an expose published earlier this week on Nepal News based on a classified report by the National Investigation Department (NID) names Gurung among those attending meetings from July 2024 planning a Bangladesh type uprising to overthrow the Nepal government.
The NID sent its findings to the Gauri Bahadur Karki Commission and the NHRC that were looking into the GenZ protests. Neither cited the conclusions.
‘The NID report explicitly links Sudan Gurung’s group to the violence during the movement … he had attended the program outlining the movement’s roadmap. The report identified Bablu Gupta and Som Sharma as key instigators of the destruction and were active members of Sudan’s group during the Gen Z protest,’ writes Lokendra Bishwakarma for Nepal News. Another report in Ukera exposed the involvement and brief detention of the prime minister’s main adviser in the VOIP call bypass scam 15 years ago.
The Prime Minister’s previous decisions in the past two months with the rushed arrests of K P Oli, Ramesh Lekhak and bank CEOs (only for the court to release them on bail), squatter evictions that left thousands still homeless, ruling by ordinance to appoint a chosen chief justice have all shown an authoritarian streak that has rattled even his own RSP.
But every time his decision is contested, the prime minister sends out a Trumpian-style Facebook post (usually on a weekend night) to divert attention away from the controversy. His selfie, ‘Say Cheese’ and ambassador shitpost were all well-timed to deflect attention from his walkout and impromptu remark in Parliament.
The decision to retire 1,500 civil servants en masse by readjusting the retirement age to 55, the investigation of decades-old financial records of 30,000+ officials has riled the bureaucracy that the government needs to implement its ambitious delivery plans.
If we are scratching our heads about this government, imagine what Nepal-watchers in Beijing and New Delhi are doing. A reclusive and impulsive leader can destabilise the whole neighbourhood, and they need clarity. We will still give the prime minister and his government the benefit of doubt, but they should stop horsing around and start governing for real.
Sonia Awale