Hush-hush talks are not what we want in times of unprecedented crisis

Introduced without much fanfare (ribbon cutting, coconut smashing, big promises and all that jazz), this column aims to offer a cursory reading of news reports appearing mainly in the Nepali print media. Though no big name in the Nepali media firmament, yours truly will try through this forum to offer an unbiased and insightful analysis of the stories by not discriminating against any publication big or small. The effort will be on coming up with this column daily, though yours truly admits that the task will not be that easy for a juggler. Hope you all will be with yours truly through thick and thin. 

When the credibility of Nepal's political leadership is at an all-time low, secret visits of the top honchos of the ruling party, the CPN Double, will do little to improve the ratings. 

Instead, such visits will further alienate the Nepali citizens from mainstream politics, contribute to the cause of domestic and foreign forces bent on destabilising the country further and fishing in troubled waters at a time when the neighbourhood is on the boil, there are increased efforts to effect yet another sellout of the Koshi despite public opposition, prime minister of the dear neighbour is arriving shortly (?) after a secret visit of the chief of the legal criminal agency of the same state. 

That is not what a country recovering from decades of political instability wants. 

Political leaders of different hues and colours have long been taking 'so-called medical visits' abroad to also engage in secret talks with legal criminal agencies of foreign states and other shady actors, furthering their petty interests at the expense of national interest. 

Whether it's in the case of the Dubai visit of Double Co-Chair Prachanda or the Singapore visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, the government has failed to take the people into confidence once again.  

As it's Nepal and the Nepalis not only of this generation but also of successive generations, who have to foot the cost of such visits, financial and/or otherwise, it becomes the duty of political leaders to inform as to what transpired at such talks and silence the conspiracy theorists of which there's no dearth in Nepal. In most of such engagements, there's no presence of Foreign Ministry officials for note-taking and boosting the institutional memory of the state. This means other states involved in the talks can later interpret any formal deal/'gentleman's understanding in a way that suits them, giving Nepal and the Nepali peoples another raw deal. 

The people of Nepal have the right to know about the latest status of the head of their government. They have the right to know what actually happened at Double Chair Prachanda's Dubai visit, for there's hardly anything private about these leaders' visits, given that they hold public offices. 

And the government has the duty to answer. 

Devendra Gautam