E-Kantipur

Minister of State Karima Begum’s slapping of a Chief District Officer of the Government of Nepal has several ramifications. CDOs have been slapped in the past too. A CDO has even been shot by his own bodyguard. But the reason for which Karima is reported to have slapped the Parsa CDO is rather flimsy. She whacked him for the simple reason that the car he sent to pick up Begum Sahiba was not fashionable enough to carry a minister of state!

Karima’s bizarre action is not something to be forgotten after it has occurred as she is not some intoxicated rogue, but a very responsible person in Nepali society. She has a high rank in her party and she was given a high rank in government as a minister of state. A person of such a high rank should have poise and patience even under overt provocation. But Karima hit the CDO without the least provocation. In fact, it appeared to be pre-planned. She arrived at the CDO office with a bunch of bullies should the CDO dare to fight back. She slapped him at least four times in the face, breaking his glasses.

There is a conceptual dichotomy between the political and bureaucratic authorities in matters of division of power in civilised societies. Political authorities are supposed to be accountable to the people, but the bureaucrats are accountable to the legal system of the state. Punishing a bureaucratic official with physical violence is not done even in societies less civilised than ours. Karima has created a history of devilry.

Karima’s slap has created several ramifications. First of all, let us take the logistic part. Is it possible to send brand new vehicles to pick up visiting ministers? The District Office has one vehicle for the CDO’s use, and some lucky districts have more. Barring a few exceptions, all such cars are old and timeworn. The budget is not adequate to keep the vehicles in shining shape. So, even if the CDO had wanted to send a fancy car, there weren’t any. In remote districts, horses or mules are used for transport. If the ministers want brand new vehicles, they should be provided to each district. Districts with busy airports would require a whole fleet of them. Parsa may need to keep three or four limousines on standby at Simara airport and the government guest house in Birgunj.

The other issue is the CDO’s schedule. The CDO is not only the most powerful and respectable officer in the district, he or she is also the busiest person there. So, how much time can a CDO spend on arranging escort for ministers? The CDO is the senior most officer in the district hierarchy and he or she represents the government in all official matters. He or she is not the personal servant of any minister. If Karima Begum, a minister of state, can hit the CDO, who can she not hit? 

There is a tacit code of conduct for people of moral dignity in civilised societies, and we believe Nepal is basically a civilised society. But there seems to be no code of conduct for the ministers. Can a minister slap a responsible officer to teach him a lesson? If yes, what legal or moral basis is there for such action? If not, can they be prosecuted for violating the personal dignity of a responsible officer? But Karima Begum is walking scot-free, demonstrating a vivid case of impunity.

Karima has not felt any remorse. Far from it: she has demonstrated a devilry that she is backed by a political block. There was a show of writing a summons by the Birgunj police, which Karima has vaingloriously defied and challenged the government to try to prosecute her. She has been changing the tone and content of her justification. First she said that she hit him because he slighted her position by sending a rotten car to escort her. Then she said that she took the CDO to task for he had failed to provide the needed security in Parsa. On a third occasion she said that the CDO had tried to manhandle her and even touched her hand.

There has been an outcry from the public against the action of the minister. Government offices all over the country came out with a token strike of three hours for two days to show solidarity towards the CDO. All government offices in Parsa remained closed for almost a week and are now open with a condition that they will resume the strike if no action is taken against the minister in a few days.

It is a pity that no action of any kind has yet been taken against her. Her Sadbhavana Party is rumoured to have made a decision to form a committee to look into the matter, but such a committee has not yet come in the open. Nobody has moved the court in this respect because a court case has to be supported by a police finding. The cabinet has not taken any decision because it will have a negative effect on the precarious inter-party position of the fragile alliance. The most shameful thing is that the prime minister has asked the home minister to postpone action on the matter, an open admission of cowardice.

The prime minister should have the guts to declare that no matter what happens to his position, he will not hesitate to take the required punitive action. He has failed to see that he has lost the moral support of thousands of government servants who had shown solidarity with the CDO. He also failed to see that millions of people’s moral support for the present government has been dashed by his disdain for the rule of law. If this government eventually goes, it will go unwept and in disrespect.

Khagendra N. Sharma

knsad1@gmail.com

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