Involving middle class family is very important for economic growth

(Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has been elected to the House of Representatives from Kathmandu – 8 constituency representing the Rastriya Swotantra Party. He has already served as the Assembly Member of Bagmati Province for five year tenure. Shrestha is a dynamic, hardworking and enthusiastic youth who represents the core area of Kathmandu Metropolis. Here are excerpts from an encounter with HoR member Shrestha with our representatives on the current issues)

TNW: Our impression is that you intend to do politics with a difference. Are you going to follow democratic path as mentioned in the constitution in an innovative way ?

Biraj: I don’t mean to say doing totally different things. We will be doing what others are doing in a different way. At present the job of the government seems to be to exploit the people as much as possible, which we are going to change totally. The state mechanism is busy raising funds from people, which we want to end completely. Our country’s development is very simple, not that complicated. Of course, our party is a democratic one. We believe in the fundamental principles of democracy such as human rights, fundamental rights and press freedom.

TNW: You come from a family having some political background, and you have acquired five-year real-time experience of Bagmati Province Assembly as a member. How these two experiences make your MP-role specifically different from the others?

Biraj: I have seen my father’s elder brother (Birendra Bhakta Shrestha) imprisoned in connection with his involvement in the Peoples Movement of 1990. At that time I remember that I had visited the jail to deliver him food from the home. My father (Bikash Bhakta Shrestha) had served as Ward Chairman in Kathmandu Metropolis. I had heard about different demands put forth by the local people before him. I had got first hand information how people’s representatives deal with the problems of the local people. Now things have changed a lot but for the worst. Now when I was elected as the Provincial Assembly member, our country is facing economic crisis. We need to focus on the people’s problems, which may look like small issue but these are important issues. For example when the people are suffering from Dengue, we need to take prevention not to spread the disease. Another point is to get people involved in policy making through forming different committees. So, we are envisioning for a development model based on people’s participation in development activities through these committees.

TNW: How do you plan to contribute specifically to the legislative functions of parliament?

Our party’s main agenda is good governance. Besides, we are focussing on conservation of natural and cultural heritage and sustainable development. During my election campaign also I had told the voters that we will focus our efforts to bring about good governance and transparency. However, we are facing some challenges in this respect. As we have set a wrong trend for the past 2,3 decades, the people consider their representatives as the agents for development. The Ward Chairman, Ward Member, Mayor and even the Lawmaker are working with the same agenda of road construction, drinking water projects etc. This way their works are overlapping. Another challenge for our party is that we dont have representation in the local level. In my opinion development is a normal process, which anybody can do, but there are obstructions put on the way due to the dirty politics.

TNW: How should RSP structure its opposition role in the parliament? Will you advocate reactive criticism of government or scrutiny of government with an alternative way of doing things?

When we were in the Provincial Assembly we had worked as opposition members for the entire five year’s tenure. I don’t think that opposition members should always oppose the government. We will also appreciate and support good works done by the government. Instead of criticising the government in each and every work performed by it, we will practice constructive criticism. This is not a new thing for me, as I have practiced the same thing in the Province in the last five years’ period. We will draw the attention of the government towards even smaller issues related to the people. And most importantly, we will make the government accountable.

TNW:  What will you do to allow RSP evolve as a centrist force as compared to two traditional forces of the democrats –NC- and Communists- CPN UML, CPN-S, Maoist Centre and others?

Though we have not entered into geo-political issues till now, there was the realization of Nepal’s unique geo-political position some two and half centuries ago. Now we are living in the modern age of 21st century. There is a need to work for us being pro-Nepal, rather than pro-this or pro-that. It is important for us to focus our attention on preserving national interest. We need qualified diplomats and leaders to make our international relations sound and reality based. In the past we had seen manpower agents being appointed as ambassadors to Gulf countries, which is not a good practice. We need to build national consensus to formulate our foreign policy. We can build national consensus on dumping corruption and receiving benefits, but we are unable to build national consensus to formulate foreign, which is very sad thing. The older parties are utilizing our means and resources for their vested interest. Now time has come to utilize the resources for the larger interest of the country and the people.

TNW: What are 3 or 4 specific programmes you are seeking to implement in the constituency you represent?

What I really wanted to do is to preserve Bishnumati river and to conserve open spaces and parks in my constituency. My next priority is management of roads and the third priority is to provide access of health facility to the general public. Besides these, I would also like to do things raised by the voters during my election campaign. Fore example, I would like to address the demands raised by the people in my constituency such as installing CCTV camera in the public places. Now, here I want to make one point clear, we are not in the executive role to deliver things to the people, what we can do is to take initiative for addressing the demands raised by the people. In the past four months, after we got elected we have resolved many problems raised by the people. For example, we have built parks and done works for the conservation of heritages in Dallu area.

TNW: Are you for large industries or small ones for boosting Nepali economy? How about your concept of agricultural development?

Dr. Swarnim Wagle ane I are working for incorporating things in the upcoming budget. I think agriculture is the backbone of our economy. Other luxurious items and costly goods are regarded as secondary things. Food is our basic need which is the product of agriculture. We have done serious discussion and homework on issues related to agriculture. We will definitely raise these issues in the upcoming budget. Secondly, the involvement of middle class family in the economy is very important for any type of economic growth. Therefore, our priorities are to develop agriculture and to uplift the middle class families in the society.

TNW: How do you think the ongoing investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee issue would conclude? Will the guilty really get punishment?

We all are required to be cautious in this regard. This is not a simple corruption case, it has also damaged our country’s international image. When the high government officials and high ranking leaders are involved in such kinds of cheating and corruption scam, it is natural for us to lose our credibility and prestige. Nepalese are at this time getting third class treatment while going abroad. This will further worsen the situation. Therefore, the issue is very crucial. Good governance and anti- corruption are the two main agenda of our party during the last election campaign. It is very unfortunate for the country to have involved senior officials and former ministers in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. I express my sincere thanks to the Government, the Home administration and the police for exposing the scam. I also request all concerned not to exert any kind of pressure on them through your popular media. This will also adversely affect our foreign policy and the perception of our friendly countries towards us. Our party has taken this issue very seriously and we have been raising this matter strongly. We are also participating in protest programmes relating to the scam. If the law finds them guilty they must be punished. No one should be spared. Now the awareness of the general public has also grown a lot in this matter. Any way , they want to end this dirty politics.

TNW: What do you think are the major problems facing the farmers in Nepal?

Fertilizer and irrigation are the two main problems facing the farmers of the country and we will focus our attention towards addressing them. Besides, we want the government to include them in the budget.

TNW: Is there any possibility of your party joining the government in this situation?

In this situation there is no such possibility. There is no possibility of changing the power equation before the budget session. We have to wait and watch what will happen next.