‘खुकुलो लकडाउन’, ट्राफीक प्रहरीको मनोमानी

मिति २०७७ साल जेष्ठ महिनाको २८ गते रातीको समयमा, नेपाल सरकार मन्त्री परिषद्ले लगभग साढे दुई महिनादेखि चल्दै आएको लकडाउनलाई चरणबद्ध रुपमा खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय गर्यो। त्यस निर्णय अन्तरगत विगतमा बन्द रहँदै आएका व्यावार-व्यसाय तथा सेवा सुविधाको प्रवाहालाई आवश्यक सावधानी अपनाएर सुचारु गर्न बाधाअवरोध नगर्ने निर्णय गर्यो। सोहि निर्णय अन्तरगत निजी सवारी साधनहरुलाई जोर-विजोर प्रणालीमा सञ्चालन गर्नदिने निर्णय समेत गर्यो।

लकडाउन अवधि भरि सार्वजनिक सडकमा आमजनताको सुरक्षा तथा लकडाउनको कार्यान्वयन तथा परिपालना गराउनका निम्ति ठूलो संख्यामा सुरक्षा निकायका कर्मचारीहरु तैनाथ भए। लकडाउनको समयमा अहोरात्र खटिएर, भोक-प्यासको पर्वाह नगरी तैनाथ रहेका प्रहरी कर्मचारीहरुले कोहिकसै अनावश्यक रुपमा, अत्यावश्य काम बिना आफ्नो बासस्थानबाट बाहिर निस्किएको अवस्थामा आवश्यक कारवाही गर्ने गरे-गर्थिए। सायद लकडाउनको अवधिमा लागेको यहि बानीले गर्दाहोला, सरकारले लकडाउन खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय गरेको भोलिपल्ट (आजको दिन) पनि प्रहरी कर्मचारीहरुले बाटोमा आफ्नो सवारी साधनका साथ नस्किएका जनसाधरणलाई रोकेर कारवाही गर्न छाडेनन्।

म स्वयम् पनि आज विहान आफ्नो मोटर साईकलमा आवश्यक खाद्यान्न किनमेल गर्न निस्किएको थिएँ। लकडाउन खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय भएसँगै, धेरै पछि म आफूले नियमित रुपमा किनमेल गर्ने ठाउँ भन्दा अलि टाढा सम्म गएर किनमेल गर्न अघि सरे। मुल सडकमा निस्कन पाउँदा नपाउँदै मेरो यात्रा सहायक निरीक्षकको नेतृत्वमा खटेको प्रहरी टोलीद्वारा अवरुद्ध गरियो। मलाई तुरन्तै आफ्नो मोटरसाईकलबाट उत्रन भनियो, मैले आदेश भए बमोजिम मेरो मोटरसाईकल रोकेँ र मलाई रोक्न निर्देशन दिनुहुने प्रहरी कर्मचारीलाई सोधेँ, (यस पश्चात प्रहरी कर्मचारीहरुसँग भएको संवादको अंश)

“सर, मेरो मोटरसाईकल त विजोर छ त! किन रोक्नु भयो?”

“कहाँ जान लाग्नु भयो?”

“खाद्यान्न किनमेल गर्न।“

“आफ्नै घर वरपर नकिनि किन मुल सडक आउनु भयो खाद्यान्न किन्न? जोर-विजोर सँग सरोकार नै भएन नि! आफ्नो नाम टिपाउनुस् अनि साँझ ७ बजे मोटरसाईकल लिन आउनुस्”

“(आफ्नो नाम र नम्बर टिपाउँदै) सर, हिजो राति मन्त्री परिषद्ले लकडाउन खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय गरेको थियो त! विहान पत्रिकामा समेत समाचार आइसक्यो! मलाई किन यसरी रोक्नु हुँदैछ तपाईँहरु? अनावश्क काम होईन, खाद्यान्न पो किनमेल गर्न जान आँटेको हुँ त!”

“तपाईँ ठूलो कुरा नगर्नुस्, त्यस्तो निर्णय भएपनि हामीलाई माथिबाट कारबाहि नरोक्नु भन्ने निर्देशन छ! खुरुक्क बाईक छोडेर आफ्नो बाटो लाग्नुस् साँझ लिनआउनुस्!”

केहि समय माथिल्लो दर्जाका प्रहरी कर्मचारी (निरीक्षक) सँग संवाद भएपछि जताबाट आएको त्यतै फर्किने सर्तमा मलाई आफ्नो मोटरसाईकल सहित जान दिइयो। त्यस ठाउँमा (जहाँ मलाई रोकिएको थियो) म जस्तै अरु १५-२० जना व्यक्तिहरुलाई आफ्नो गन्तव्यमा जान नदिइ रोकेर राखिएको थियो। म त्यहाँ करीब ३० मिनेट रोकिनु परेको थियो, अन्य व्यक्तिहरुले १-२ घण्टादेखि रोकिएको भनेर गुनासो पोख्दै थिए। त्यँहा रोकिएर बसेका व्यक्तिहरु अतिरिक्त करीब २०-२५ वटा अन्य मोटरसाईकलहरु समेत रोकेर राखिएको थियो।

मसँग घटेको घटना त प्रतिनिधि घटना मात्र हो, यो लेख लेख्दा सम्म आज दिउँसो मात्र हजारौँको संख्यामा सवारीसाधन समातिएको समाचार आइसकेको छ। प्रस्तुत विषयलाई नेपालमा विद्यमान कानूनी व्यवस्थाको चश्मा लगाएर हेर्ने हो भने निम्न बमोजिमको परिदृश्य देख्न सक्छौँ,

प्रहरीले लकडाउनको समयमा सवारीसाधन तथा बटुवाहरुलाई गर्ने गरेको कारवाहि कानूनी रुपमा फौजदारी कानून अन्तरगत गरिएको दण्डसजाय हो। लकडाउन उल्लङ्घन गरेकोमा सजाय स्वरुप फौजदारी दायित्तव अन्तरगत सवारीसाधनलाई रोकेर राख्ने तथा निश्चित समय पश्चात मात्र कारवाहि फुकुवा गर्ने गरिएको थियो। तर मन्त्री परिषद्बाट लकडाउनलाई खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय भएपश्चात पनि सवारीसाधनहरुलाई ‘माथिबाट निर्देशन आएको छ’ भनि दण्डसजायलाई नियमितता दिनु भनेको, प्रहरी प्रशासनबाट विद्यमान कानूनी अवधारणाको घोर उल्लङ्घन हो। हाल प्रचलित ‘नेपाल कानून व्याख्या सम्बन्धी ऐन, २०१०’ को दफा ३(च) को प्रतिबन्धात्मक वाक्यांशमा ‘कसैले कानून बनिसकेको तर त्यस कानून राजपत्रमा प्रकाशन भईनसेको अवस्थामा साविकको कानूनले दण्डनीय मानेको तर नयाँ बनेको कानूनले दण्डनीय नमानेको कार्य गरे तापनि त्यस्तो कार्यलाई लिएर कुनै दण्ड सजाय दिईने छैन’ भन्ने तात्पर्य रहेको प्रावधान हामी पाउन सक्छौँ।

त्यस कारण प्रहरीबाट सवारीसाधनहरु विरुद्ध आज भइरहेको कारवाही सामान्य दृष्टिबाट हेर्दा त अव्यवहारीक छँदै छ, कानूनी दृष्टिबाट हेर्दा समेत गैरकानूनी छ। लकडाउनलाई खुकुलो पार्ने निर्णय भइसक्दा समेत कथित ‘माथिको निर्देशन’ लाई देखाउँदै जनतालाई अनावश्यक असुविधा हुने कार्य गर्नु अन्यायपूर्ण हो। लकडाउनको समयमा अहोरात्र खटेर हाम्रो सेवा गरेकोमा हामीले प्रहरी प्रशासन तथा प्रहरी क्मचारीहरुलाई धेरै धन्यवाद दियौँ, अब भने हामीलाई अनावश्य रुपमा दु:ख नदिने पलो प्रहरी प्रशासनको हो।

अद्वैत बराल

२०७७ साल जेष्ठ महिना २९ गते बिहिबार

छाउनी, काठमाण्डौँ

An aspirant to the truth

An aspirant to the truth

That, what is not false is the truth. With fallacies tainting every breath of air, the quest for grasping the truth becomes as much challenging as sneezing with our eyes shut. The time is such that subjects cannot even speak the truth to themselves. Fallacies have been anchored into the earth so deep with truth crushed under it. In the midst of the mist of fallacies, walks a girl who aims to establish truth. She is in a hunt for reality, with which she aims to blow away the mist of fallacies.

The aspirant to truth, she is. The girl knows no magic of changing the weather, she did try to shine away the mist of fallacies but the dampness of fallacies overwhelmed the heat of her truthful effort. Everyone she interacted with seemed to have forgotten what truth feels like, worse they seemed not to uphold the concept of truth; fallacies seemed as though it pumped into every veins of their body with every palpitation of their heart.

There was a time when she illustrated truth before people who were infected of fallacies, the illustration was of little help because they had already been programmed by fallacies to reject what is true. She has come across fallacies in different shapes and sizes, there were some fallacies that was spread by very powerful people who debuted fallacies in the air, there also were people who had been around the former people so much that they had scavenged fallacies and now they are generating their own fallacies. The sad thing is these preachers of fallacies can be seen fraudulently representing themselves as prophets of truth.

The girl has no intention of giving up her quest to truth, she is all prepared to fight fallacies to establish truth. She knows what it is, she believes in it and she is guided by it, the truth. There were times when her immunity was dueled by fallacies, the result as expected, the truth in her and the truth she believed in stabbed the hostile fallacy on its chest and came out victorious.

She had heard that believing in fallacies had made people powerful. She does want to be powerful but she does not want the power that makes people preachers of fallacies. She wants to command truth but at the same time she does not want to do it with a 'mask of truth' over her face, like those preachers of fallacies, she wants to shape her face into acquainting people with the face of an aspirant to truth.

The aspirant to truth has remained uncharred from the wildfire of fallacies, she has protected herself with the best repellent, the suit of truth. She is in no minds to take off the suit of truth, not today and not until her last day. She is in search for an environment where she does not need to keep her 'suit of truth' on, for she is in wait of the situation where it will rain truth and flood away fallacies. An aspirant to truth she is.    

Expressing my opinions

"Listen to me! If you are defending what they are doing, you will face consequences"

"Have I said that I am defending them?"

"What you are expressing, tells that you are defending them?"

"Am I not entitled to express my opinion? Do I not have the freedom to speak what I believe? Do I need to ask for a permission to present my views?"

"What they are doing will not benefit to our union, it will set negative impression among students. You should not be supporting them"

"So when you speak it is the union's decree and when I speak, I'd be cracking a joke? Is my opinion not an opinion at all? I also have faith in the same union as you do"

My dear friend went away, babbling curse words [probably against me] meanwhile I stood where I was telling myself that the person whom I just had an argument with, who identifies himself as a student leader might someday reach an authoritative position [probably through political appointment] just because 'he knows some people' and behave with other people in just the way he did with me some moments ago. The level of intolerance and insecurity in my friend extended to the level where he felt a prospective program that was to be organized by a dozen of undergraduate students from my college posed a threat to 'status quo of his union'. Later I came to know that him along with some other friends of mine had a meeting [over tea] to prevent the said prospective program from being organized.

Instances like these worries me, it makes me delusional and get visions of future where we Nepalese are ruled by a bunch of folks who do not have the faintest idea that the citizenry who they [might] rule also might have an opinion of themselves and that opinion might not corroborate with theirs; such a system which would be more horrific than the state of Oceania from George Orwell's 1984 which would have more strict LEA than the 'thought police' and scarier intelligence collection method than the 'telescreen', meant solely for the purpose of monitoring and penalizing 'differences in opinion'.

My friend and I both having been law students did not make him have a soft spot for the opinion I had which was not similar to that of his. Law students like ourselves who have the knowledge of rights, freedom and liberty seem not to be sculpted in the manner as to what we have learnt, we have no respect for each other's opinion. This makes me question, where is the problem? Is it in the model of education that we are the part of? Or is it in ourselves for we cannot be tolerant enough to recognize ideas which are not identical to that of ours?