Minendra Rijal, central working committee member of the Nepali Congress and a former minister, has criticised Nepal Communist Party (NCP) government’s key policies including its stance on the new Criminal Code saying it has curtailed press and media freedom. Jagdishor Panday of The Himalayan Times caught up with Rijal to know his views on the various actions and policies of the government.  Excerpts:

What is your take on the new Criminal Code Act and right to privacy bill?

What is very clear is that any piece of legal instrument that contradicts provisions of the constitution has to be null and void. If the Criminal Code is not amended, the Supreme Court will bring it down. Before that, the government will have to work with the opposition to amend the act. If the government does not work on it, the opposition will take its initiatives.

If the government wants to change the code, they can just do it. There is sufficient time to revisit it. They have been in the government for six months, but haven’t done anything till now. If the government is just going to keep quiet about it, Nepali Congress will strongly oppose the code in the Parliament. The government can’t get away with this only by blaming the opposition.

What do you say about the right to privacy bill registered in the Parliament, which bars publication of information related to individuals that journalists say is an infringement of their right?

Individual privacy and press freedom are fundamental rights. Anything that curtails freedom of speech is not acceptable. But encroachment upon individual’s privacy is not tolerated in a democracy, either. So, responsible media institutions have every right not to reveal their sources of information. That is a very important ingredient of free, fair discussion in the public domain. That can’t be stopped.

The medium of media is not important. But blogs and social media are different. If somebody runs a blog asking the government for information, s/he won’t be able to get it. But media can investigate; investigative journalism is all about that.

Media houses are responsible institutions. Their claim to right to information is very important.

In summary, what I am saying is freedom of speech prevails over everything else, and we should very carefully take a look at the right to privacy also. We need to reconcile these two for a piece of legislation that is satisfactory. Right to privacy has to be honoured, but not at the expense of freedom of press and freedom of speech.

The government is planning to draft Media Council Act and Mass Communication Umbrella Act. Are these necessary now?

That is completely unacceptable. There is no institution in democracy where journalists should sit for a written exam. Journalists will be examined by their readers. If the readers don’t like a journalist, they will stop to listening and watching the person. The journalist will be out of job if s/he is not accepted by readers. That is democracy, that’s competition. That is freedom of speech and freedom of press.

But no government institution can certify whether an individual is qualified to be a journalist. That only happens in authoritarian and dictatorial regimes, not in a democracy. Democracy is not only about election and representative government.

Democracy is freedom of speech and press, independent judiciary, respect for human rights, civil society and very strong laws. People’s participation and a very vigilant public also are essential elements of democracy. There should be a compromise. Look at the Press Council of Nepal. It has not won respect from the people and from professional journalists. Even if they did, it has no right to certify who can be a journalist and who can’t. The government wants to control the public domain. They only want to see what they want to; they don’t want to see something that they don’t want to.

Isn’t it true that all political parties have come together to curtail the press and media?

No. The government can propose an amendment. The government has revoked a number of decisions made by the previous government led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. We are not with parties and a government which curtail rights, the freedom of press and expression. We feel that the Criminal Code and the right to privacy bill’s provisions have problems. Those have to be amended. We challenge the government to amend it, and if they don’t, we will register the amendment and raise our voice inside and outside the Parliament.

How does your party view the government?

There is a pattern. PM Oli says he can’t be authoritarian, because he has a glorious track record. We have respect for that. He said in the House that he didn’t need a certificate of democracy from anybody. In democracy, the people ask the prime minister for the certificate every day. He can’t say I was democratic.

Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s former President), tried to do so. In the beginning, he was a democratic leader. He was a freedom fighter; he was in prison for 10 years. The first two years, he was good leader, a democratic leader. See what he did later. He became a dictator. Self-respect is very important in democracy, but exaggerated sense of self is the first step towards authoritarianism.

PM Oli nominated Deepak Raj Joshee to the post of chief justice and also directed his party (Nepal Communist Party (NCP) people to bring him down. It was a calculated move to bring down the morale of the judiciary. They want to threaten the judiciary. The message that the NCP (NCP)  and the government want to give to the judiciary is deeply troubling. This is a serious problem. This runs contrary to the principles of an independent judiciary.

Look at the Nirmala Panta story, even the police feel ‘I can get away with everything’. We are facing misuse of power from the government and its powerful institutions. Look at incidents related to Lenin Bista, an ex-child combatant, and Vice-chancellor of Sanskrit University. Don’t they have freedom to move? The home minister said he would crack down on transport syndicate. Did he do anything? What about probe into the 33 KG gold smuggling case? There is a lot of hue and cry. The home minister said powerful criminals would get caught, but has that happened?

Who is responsible for the late registration of bills related to fundamental rights in the Parliament?

The government is already late, but PM Oli will put the blame on us. The bill must be discussed in the thematic committees of the Parliament. As far as the timeline is concerned, I am doubtful it will be completed within the stipulated time — September 19. But the government will just try to get away by blaming the opposition.

What is your party’s take on speaker and deputy speaker of the Parliament?

It is clearly stated in the constitution that the speaker and deputy speaker shouldn’t be from the same party. The speaker should be proactive about it. I still urge the speaker to be proactive. We have similar problems in provincial assemblies. All of them are from the same party.

What are Nepali Congress’ plans for the next four years as opposition?

That’s okay. I feel good sitting on the opposition bench. Some of our colleagues probably are not very accustomed to sitting as opposition. Slowly, they will be accustomed. We lost the polls. We have to review the causes because of which we lost. Eighteen months later we will hold a national convention. With the new constitution promulgated, we have to amend our statute and bylaws to make them compatible with the constitution. Political parties are not structured in accordance with the new federal set-up. By the time the 14th convention is over, NC will be strong and vibrant party.