Niraj Aryal: This is not an attempt to undermine the fact that Nepal has been a corrupt nation since decades. Our main point of concern today is that ‘corruption’ in the country has increased manifold since the Maoists joining the mainstream politics.

No state institution including the CIAA-the governmental authority to investigate abuse of authority, is left untouched by the plague of corruption.

According to a fresh study conducted by the anti-graft body, a total of 32.4 percent of respondents who were part of their research, claimed that the corruption takes place with political backing.

Whether or not to trust findings of the anti-graft body that is itself engaged in corrupt practices, we leave it to our readers.

The extent of corruption is such that a new song that criticized mostly communists in government for their direct involvement in repeated malpractices and their cadres preferring to remain tightlipped, was offloaded from internet following direct threats to the singer coming from cadres of ruling political parties.

Not that other leaders are not corrupt but one of the allegations against the strongest man in Nepali politics today, the former Maoists Supreme Commander Prachanda is that he in lieu of cash, appoints men in lucrative governmental positions – that have so far remained hub of corrupt practices.

Prachanda’s daughter-in-law who is also a Minister was alleged of malpractices in the ministry of water supplies by Secretary Gajendra Thakur.

Another allegation against the former captain of the brutal Maoists’ led People’s War is that he by hook or by crook appoints his trusted men in the topmost positions of the state organs, which could possibly raise serious question marks on the fraudulent movement that he headed for over a decade.

That the Maoist peoples’ war was duplicitous becomes clear from the fact that their leaders who are housed in different political camps, a decade after concluding the revolt are engaged in amassing wealth.

Most of them since joining the main stream politics have built luxurious homes in Kathmandu, reports confirm.

Reports claiming involvement of Vice President Nanda Kishor Pun’s son in the fresh corruption scandal involving a CIAA commissioner was made public.

A video showing Vice President’s son seeking illegal kickback to settle the issue was disclosed in the video.

VP Pun is Prachanda’s trusted man since the People’s War days.

Would a sane person even imagine that Maoist leaders who led a movement with the objective to establish a Peoples’ Republic and in the process mercilessly murdered thousands of innocent civilians in the name of Mao Zedong, Marx and Lenin, would not only accept the corrupt legacy adhered by the Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist Party to eventually become a part of the continuing legacy?

The seriousness of the deceitful acts of the Maoist leaders becomes clear from the attempt Baburam- the second man in command of the Maoist movement, is making moves to merge his ‘Naya Shakti Party’ with the Nepali Congress- the oldest Democratic Party.

People cannot stop making their voices heard knowing that there is no one to listen to them, but an investigation into the dishonest Maoist movement and a thorough criminal investigation against the Maoists leaders is already overdue.

The families of the indoctrinated Maoists’ cadres who were killed during rebellion and those abandoned militias are perhaps in a better position to demand investigation into the treachery committed by both the top most Maoist leaders, Prachanda and Baburam.

Their demand thus appears logical and has also been backed by the UN and several Western democracies.

Similarly, families that have their members killed by the Maoists for supporting the opposing views can join hands to demand for criminal investigation against Prachanda and Baburam.

The sad reality is that all past attempts have failed.

The champions of Democracy scattered the world over have yet to press the Nepal government to pay attention to this overly stretched issue.

War crimes must not go unpunished.

As and when people try to come together against past Maoist atrocities, they are psychologically terrified as threats of return of violence keeps coming from the Maoist front.

And this time, return of violence was guaranteed within days after Prachanda himself declared birth of yet another Maoist movement.

More dangerous is his declaration which in his own words, ‘this time it is going to be deadlier than in the past’.

While recalling the explosion that rocked Nakkhu area of Lalitpur district last Friday, a local shopkeeper describing the horrific scene claimed ‘the man’s body parts went flying and one of his legs landed by the side of the road’. The eyewitness was talking to a Television Channel on Saturday.

The Maoists’ splinter led by Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplav’, which is still at war took the responsibility of carrying out series of explosions last week.

Reports later confirmed that the man who was taken to a hospital was declared dead. Two other persons were also seriously injured in the incident.

The NCELL, a telecom provider that is involved in billions of rupees of tax evasion was targeted in the explosion.

The Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, who himself is experienced enough to carry out such explosions being a military strategist of the Maoist Party led Peoples’ War in the past, without deploring the ghastly incident claimed that the government has proof of Biplav’s involvement and that the explosions were aimed to thwart the upcoming Investor’s Summit in Kathmandu.

Was Prachanda in full knowledge of the violence that Biplav’s men were plotting? Perhaps yes!