Hello -
I am a regular listener of BBC Nepali service over the Internet. I have been listening to 2 radio-series "Tapai Ko Sansar" and "Nepal Sandrava" for sometime. I applaud the tough questions Mr. Mishra and Mr. Raut ask politicians of the mainstream parties. But their questions to government officials appear too obsequious. They show unnecessary deference to current ministers [is there a hidden agenda there?]. Mr. Mishra gave free pass to Tanka Dhakal and Nirjanjan Thapa. For instance, when Mr. Thapa said FMs should not be allowed to broadcast national news, I had 100s of follow-up questions I could have asked but Mr. Mishra just let it go. But when he interviewed Mr. Ram Chandra Poudel, he gave him a lot of heat for NOT participating in the local election.
It seems, or rather gives me an impression that BBC Nepali service is operating under the assumption that whatever the current regime in Nepal is doing is legal and constitutional. But we all know that it is not. Thus, the first question I would ask any government official is which section/sub-section/paragraph of the constitution are they working under? If their position/function is NOT legal/constitutional, whatever they do WON?T be either. Where does it say that the King can rule the country without a parliament and with no accountability whatsoever? Where does it say that council of ministers can have 2 vice-chairmen?
I have said in my earlier e-mail about Mr. Mishra's pro-monarchy bend. He wrote an article after Feb 1 event that things in Nepal have turned for the better ((http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4502455.stm). I told him, he was wrong [had no idea where he had gotten his information from] and the subsequent events have proven me right.
In the U.S. the Fox network, owned by the famed right-winger Robert Murdoch, calls its news program "Fair and Balanced". That is a first class misnomer because it is always propounding right-wing agenda. It seems to be that BBC Nepali service is broadcasting its pro-monarchy agenda instead of being truly fair and balanced [I would rather have the news announcers call King G, just "raja Gynendra" instead of "bada maha raja diraj" - that's so unnecessary. Just to let you know, I am waiting for BBC Nepali service [Mr. Mishra and Mr. Raut in particular] to commit a faux pas and then I am going to start a letter writing campaign against them to straighten the matter.
Please understand that I am not affiliated with any political parties. I probably hate Girija, Deupa and Nepal as much as Gyanendra [much more the former two]. I was as disappointed as anyone with the multi-party experience in the past 15 years, but be as it may, the solution to Nepal's long-term economic problem is political stability and not intercine war [political and military] and democratic process it the best way to achieve it. Sure there are flaws especially regarding political and personal corruption, as businessmen like Kethan pointed out in a BBC interview, but there are remedies for them within the democratic system.
To say Nepalese are not ready for democracy is to insult the intellect of Nepali people. Now that's the question Mr. Mishra and Mr. Raut can ask government ministers, the next time they get a chance.
Cheers.
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