MP Harka Raj Rai Questions Government's Double Standards on Freedom of Expression

Kathmandu. Nepal Labor Culture Party MP Harka Raj Rai has questioned why ministers are not arrested when they threaten, if those who insult the Prime Minister are jailed. In the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Rai accused the government of attacking the citizens' freedom of expression.

 “A youth was taken into custody on charges of insulting the Prime Minister, but why are the minister who threatened to break the legs of construction entrepreneurs and the MP who threatened to drag the police on the street not punished? When will the law be for the big and the rule for the small?” Rai said. He said that citizens should be given a chance to correct themselves, but the state should not seek revenge. 

He drew attention to the parliament that the government's style of work has led to anarchy rather than democracy in the country. Rai also objected to Prime Minister Balen Shah's recent statement and the government's double standards. 

MP Rai said that rules and laws should be equal for everyone. “When rules are not followed in a democracy or when rules apply only to one group, anarchy begins. Now the parliament and the government seem to be gradually moving in that direction,” Rai said. He demanded a ruling from the Speaker for the Prime Minister to be present in the parliament and clarify his statements. 

MP Rai drew the attention of the Home Minister to the incident at the District Administration Office, Surkhet, where a statue of Buddha was kept tied with a chain. “It was seen that people were jailed, but what is the reason for even the statue of the harbinger of peace, Buddha, to be jailed? The government must be serious about such sensitive issues,” Rai said.