Every school-going Nepali student must have gone through this story. It goes like this: Once a cunning jackal, accidentally, falls into a pool of blue color meant for dying. When he came out, he had already transformed into a new avatar - a bright blue color jackal. With curiosity, other animals came to see him, assuming to be a new species. Thinking it is time to capitalize on the new avatar, he tells them that he has been sent by the Lord to rule them. Animals believed him and accepted him as their new king. However, this did not last long. It lasted till the night when other jackals, as a part of their natural instinct, started howling. The blue jackal also joined the ritual, revealing his true identity. The moral of the story is that one can fool people for a while, performing some tricks. But you cannot fool all people all the time.
Blue Revolution
Similar to the fate of the blue jackal, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), a political party in Nepal, with blue color and a bell as its symbol, has called for initiating the “Blue Revolution”. Basically, this is in response to the recent arrest of their president Mr Ravi Lamichhane over investigation into cooperative scams and organized crime. Since then, the party has been busy organizing mass demonstrations, picketing and other modes of protests. While blue symbolizes peace and tranquility, their protest activities seem far from embodying these qualities. One of the party’s own members got a brutal beating in Pokhara, mistaking him as an infiltrator, for throwing a water bottle at the police. After the Pokhara debacle, expecting to draw more crowds and their sympathizers, RSP has switched its protest programs to Kathmandu.
Political Vendetta
RSP accuses government actions as political vendetta. The government, however, contends that its actions are part of a routine investigation, as recommended by the parliamentary investigation committee's report. Mr. Lamichhane is not the only individual under scrutiny; others are also involved. Responding to RSP's accusations, Mr. Surya Thapa, head of the investigation committee, stated that following the failure of the "Clean Chit" drama, they are now attempting to attract public attention with a "Political Vendetta" drama, which, he believes, is also bound to fail.
Over 15 injured in jackal attack
The party has assumed actions against their president as actions against the party, as if RSP equals Lamichhane and vice versa. The case being investigated took place long before the formation of RSP or arrival of Lamichhane into politics and it has nothing to do with party politics. It is a pure criminal case of cooperative fraud and thuggery, says the government.
The manner in which their president was taken from the party headquarters, transported to Pokhara overnight, and held in custody—amidst delays in the investigation and alleged harassment—has led RSP leaders and members to claim it is an act of political score-settling.
Illogical Logic
In defence of their president, the party is churning out a series of logic, or in fact, illogical logic. First, they argue “why just Lamichhane and not others?” There are so many thugs and cheaters freely moving around, no action has been taken against them, instead they are getting political protection.
This reveals their flawed reasoning: If everyone else is stealing, then we too have the right to steal. This logic obscures the fact that stealing is inherently illegal and immoral. It also undermines their claim that newcomers are inherently better than the old guards and that meritocracy should prevail over seniority—a concept they have coined in Nepali as the "jaane lai chhane" system.
Second, RSP lives in a dichotomous world where they see themselves as good and others as bad, they are right and others are wrong, they represent new and young, others old and outdated. Listen to their logic: We have hardly been in power for four to five months, you have been here since the last 34 years. Proportionately, you are more responsible for the present day mess and mismanagement. One will be baffled by their other logic: If we have not done anything right, we have not done anything wrong as well. One cannot take credit for not doing anything which you are not supposed to do anyway. Third, to prove clean chit argument, they have spent energy and time saying: (a) an MD cannot be held responsible for the source of the money, (b) If an MD is to be held responsible then all the employees, even Galaxy TV viewers be held responsible, (c) A buyer of a stolen property cannot be held responsible for the actions of a seller, for transactions done in good faith, (d) The money came to Gorkha Media before Lamichhane was positioned as the MD. But the fact is that he was not just an employee, he was also one of the three founding share-owners of the private company. With the revelation of forgery in share transfer, “the sweat share argument”, that they used to defend themselves, has now gradually fizzled out in thin air.
Condescending attitude
If one reads carefully their statements, in between the lines, one can observe a kind of condescending attitude being held. First, the denial - their president doing anything wrong. Second, if he had done anything wrong, that was done in the past, before his entry into politics. Third, everyone is doing the same thing, we have been singled out for investigation. Fourth, there is no concrete evidence of wrongdoing. Fifth, we are ready to cooperate with judicial inquiry but such inquiry should not just target us. Sixth, it was a mistake on the part of the president to not have a tab on GB Rai’s profile. Finally, they are ready to share responsibility in a proportionate manner.
Similar to the situation of a blue jackal, the Blue Revolution is turning nowhere. Now, the explicit agenda of the movement is not to have their president released but to wage a war against political vendetta, against corruption and anomalies in governance and to protect the interests of the millions of small-time depositors.
Ravi aau, desh bachau
When their public demos are dominated by participants carrying national flags, chanting slogans like “hamro Ravi, hamro desh, pran bhanda pyaro chha”, “ganatantra chhaindaina” “ganatantra murdabad”, one can clearly guess the direction and destination of their movement. What is left to chant is: “Ravi aau, desh bachau”.
