The abusive criticism made by Balen Shaha, the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, to former Prime Minister K P Oli shows that Balen does not hesitate to unnecessarily wash dirty political linen in the street. It has been widely felt that it has not only polluted the political ambience in the country but also tarnished the image of the budding leader. It is unfortunate that the mayor has spent valuable time to engage in unnecessary abuse when the need of the hour is to further use it for the rescue of Kathmandu, which has recently earned the ironic distinction of being the most polluted city in the world.

Balen at times makes statements unworthy of his stature as the mayor of the capital city of the country. He once said that he would blow up Singha Durbar, the Government's secretariat complex. Very recently, he dumped garbage in front of the Department of Roads as a sign of his supposed resentment for not extending the road stretch from Kalanki to Maharajgunj. But it was revealed that the mayor took resort to this unexpected action for not allowing him to narrow the road in the New Road area.

All hell went loose when Balen accused the UML supremo Oli of instructing the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Raghubir Mahaseth, to harass the metropolitan city. He wrote that the former prime minister was seeking to mislead the country in order to camouflage the Rs 100 billion Giri Bandhu scam in which his involvement has been alleged. It scaled dizzy heights when he said that a messiah may virtually land one day and reopen the files implicating Oli and even send him behind bars.

Oli has, however, shown restraint by replying 'ask Balen' when queried about his involvement in the Giri Bandhu estate scam. Otherwise, he is not one who keeps mum when volleyed with abusive criticism. Some may even think the former prime minister is really involved in the scam, which is deterring him to go on the offensive.

Politicians, especially the towering ones, are expected to say the worst of things in the best of language. But when it takes a turn the other way round, then it leads to hate speech. A hate speech manifests itself in all forms of expression, which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance and indignity of human beings. It is so serious that the United Nations has adopted a concerned convention entitled International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which has been ratified by 182 countries, including Nepal. Most European countries have implemented it following which several politicians have been prosecuted. These include Jesper Langballe in Denmark, Flavio Tosi in Italy and Jussi Halla-aho in Finland. More than 50 politicians are said to have been prosecuted for making hate speech in Belgium alone.

Hate speeches have created undesirable situations since time immemorial. When Ravan spewed hate speech to his brother Bivishan, he defected from the bonhomie and joined rival Ram's camp. It was instrumental for the demise of Ravan in the hands of Ram. Similarly, when Draupadi made fun of Duryodhan by saying that the son of a blind is blind when he banged his head against a transparent glass door mistaking it as open, it drew the niche for the beginning of the Mahabharat War, which witnessed the loss of innumerable lives.

Politicians launch activities to bag votes during election. Do these hate speeches help towards this end? Such studies have not been made in Nepal. But a study regarding the prosecution of Geert Wilders way back in 1935 for making hate speech in Denmark has made interesting revelations. Incidentally, he was convicted for making hate speeches against the minorities in 2016. It was against the Moroccan Muslims living in Denmark. The essence of democracy is that people have the freedom of speech but the minorities are protected as well.

Though Wilders thought that he had enjoyed the luxury of democracy, little did he realise that his speech had hurt the minorities. He later told the judges prosecuting him that they had restricted the freedom of speech of millions of Dutch citizens and thereby convicted everyone. He further said that nobody trusts them anymore.

Wilder had been convicted because he had referred to Islam as a fascist ideology and he proposed banning the Quran. Again, he was punished as he asked at a rally of his supporters regarding whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans to which they replied fewer. Balen has also made many unpleasant statements one after another.

It is less likely that Balen will be prosecuted by the court as Oli and his party mates have been on the defensive. Parliamentarian Yogesh Bhattarai made a suggestive statement by saying that he should not mount vituperative attacks on the likes of Oli who have gone behind bars for the cause of democracy in Nepal. Are these vitriolic statements aimed at gaining popularity as there are rumours that Balen with others like Harka Sampang, the Mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, will launch a new party on the eve of the next general election?

Studies have revealed that hate speech leads to erosion of political support. But what is not known is, how long does this decline continue? Given that Balen is used to making such derogatory statements regularly, it may even extend till the timing of the next polls in 2024.

People had expected much from the likes of Balen Shaha against the backdrop of the dismal performance of the frontline leaders. But the unwarranted vitriolic attack of their idols has certainly dampened their spirit. It is unfortunate that their diehard supporters are found supporting such erratic behaviour, little realising that these activities do more harm than good to their heroes.