Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Basnet reiterated his threat to shut down Nagarik and throw its Editor-in-Chief Narayan Wagle behind the bars for reporting against him and his organization. Parshu Ram Basnet is charged with masterminding a murder attempt on our scribe Khila Nath Dhakal.[break]
Basnet, who has been denying making such threats initially accused Nagarik of distorting his expression in Biratnagar on August 13 at the start of the press conference and challenged to establish his threat about shutting down Nagarik and throwing editor-in-chief Wagle into jail.
He had even come armed with a few CDs of his August 13 speech in Biratnagar but he later admitted making the threats following interrogation from the assembled mediapersons. “What I spoke about Nagarik and its editor Wagle in Biratnagar is true. We are in the battlefield with Nagarik after it declared a war on us,” Basnet said.
He repeatedly used the phrase ´when the law becomes strong´ and declared that Nagarik and Wagle would be made accountable the day Parshu Ram gets clean chit from the court. “The law is not strong at the moment. If Narayan Wagle doesn´t go to jail the day law becomes strong, would I go to the jail?” he questioned matter-of-factly.
He blasted Nagarik for publishing call details of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Sub-inspector (SI) and accused it of infringing privacy. “Who gave the right to Narayan Wagle to publish call details of an individual?,” he fumed and added, “The News of the World of Britain has been shut down for similar infringements of privacy.”
The press can become anarchist if nobody questions the entity that is allowed to question everybody, he opined and claimed that he has raised the issue to make it accountable.
Basnet also questioned the credibility of Wagle and claimed that he had published a flattering piece about a ´smuggler by the name of Rasendra Bhattarai´ when he was a news editor with Kantipur daily. “He published a big front-page news about Bhattarai when his editor Yuvaraj Ghimire was on leave. The issue latter invited controversy,” he countered.
He also claimed that Nagarik wrote a series on Unity Life Insurance (ULI) to get it shut after the company refused to pay Rs 20 million to the newspaper. “Parshu Ram may have got the journalist thrashed. But he is no arms smuggler and women trafficker. Nagarik would have to answer many such questions,” he warned. He claimed that Parshu Ram would have been produced directly in the court if the latter had indeed planned the attack on journalist Dhakal and conceded that he and his organization would respect the court´s verdict on the case.
He, however, claimed that he had not threatened the families of police officers during the Biratnagar address. But he accused the wives of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) duo Kiran Gautam and Kalyan Timilsina of making illegal investments in casinos.
He also slammed high-ranking police officials for using stolen vehicles and claimed that investigations by his organization have showed police involvement in the smuggling of red sandalwood. “The police faction involved in such acts has now stood against us,” he claimed. “We are not a criminal organization but a frightening yet credible political organization made up of a lot of well-meaning dons,” he argued.
He claimed that the case of attack on journalist Dhakal was basically the result of a dispute between two drunken individuals and slammed the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) for standing behind Nagarik without understanding the real issue.
Distance created with mother party UML
YAN Chairman Basnet conceded that the Biratnagar incident has increased distance between YAN and CPN-UML. A meeting of the disciplinary commission of UML on Friday directed the party to investigate the incident and take necessary action.
“The disciplinary commission has directed the party to either take action against YAN or defend it. It has created a rift between the new and old generations in the party,” he said. “I feel heavy like climbing a high altitude. They will understand us when we reach the summit,” he claimed. He, however, conceded that the Biratnagar episode would provide YAN with an opportunity to mend its ways.
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