The main responsibility of the Sushila Karki-led government formed on 27 Bhadra is elections. The elections for the House of Representatives are being held on 21 Falgun, as scheduled on the same day. One of the ministers Karki inducted into the cabinet at the very beginning is Om Prakash Aryal. Although some ministers of the civilian government left the government and joined the elections, Aryal did not shy away from his main responsibility. A conversation between Aryal, who has been handling the Home Ministry, which is considered important in terms of election management and peace and security, for Kantipur Umesh Chauhan , Krishna Acharya and Durga Dulal : We have reached the eve of the elections amidst doubts about whether the elections will be held or not. Even with less than a week left until the voting day, there is still a mentality that the elections could be stopped for some reason, that some political party could obstruct them, that there could be clashes. Where and how is this being created? How has the government assessed it?

There is no concrete reason and basis for this to happen. There is no basis and reason that has been revealed or is about to happen. How can the government believe in something that has no basis and reason? If someone gives any guesses and suspects, we discuss and formulate a strategy.  But, a basis and reason are needed for that. Will any work be stopped at the last minute? It will not be stopped. Now the election is the same. If it is said that it will be stopped like this, will the future of the country and the constitution be at stake? This also needs a solid basis. All parties are engaged in the election. Only small parties are seen opposing the election. The government has also put such groups in the right place. 

There was doubt for a long time whether the UML, the party led by the government during the Gen-G movement, would participate in the election or not. One day, after a long discussion between UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Oli himself left saying that there will be an election now. Did the government make such a proposal in this meeting that Oli suddenly came out in favor of the election?

UML was not against the elections from the beginning. It had been saying that it was ready to participate in the elections if they could provide security and if they were fair. Saying that we are not against the elections, it only raised questions about the legitimacy of the government. It has said from the very beginning that if the elections are held fairly and with good security, we will participate in the elections. UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and others had said this in our formal and informal meetings. UML representatives came at a time when the government had called for discussions. Therefore, it cannot be said that such an environment has been created only after the meeting of the UML Chairman and the Prime Minister. Their question was the same from the beginning. They were looking for assurances about peace and security and whether the elections would be held fairly. We gave that assurance.

People also have another suspicion. Why was the deadline extended to make the report of the incidents of the 23rd and 24th public within three months, initially by one month, then by 20 days, and then by the commission after the election, even though it was not their desire? This is why it is said that UML also entered the elections easily, right?

I mentioned UML above. Again, my point is the same. UML has been in favor of the election from the beginning. It only said that if this happens, we will participate in the election. You mentioned the commission. While the commission was working on the issue of delay in bringing the report, it also needed time. The incident of 23 and 24 Bhadra is very big. 

It will have to be done from collecting facts to analyzing it. The then-current situation and circumstances will also have to be looked at. The rules and regulations as well as international human rights laws will have to be analyzed. Since it has to be accepted by international 'stakeholders' besides the national ones, there is a challenge to make it at the same level. The issue of human rights violations is not only national, it should also be accepted internationally.
It took time to work to comply with and fulfill international standards. During the investigation, the commission has analyzed thousands of videos. Statements have been taken. How so much damage was done on the 24th, what weapons were used to cause the damage, what chemicals were used, this will also have to be examined. UML was not against the election from the beginning. It had been saying that it was ready to participate in the election if it could provide security in the election and if it was fair.

There were many tasks and responsibilities within the commission's scope of work, including these. The commission took time to fulfill all these responsibilities satisfactorily and make the report credible and trustworthy. The commission requested time for all these reasons. The government extended the time because the commission requested it.

The members of the commission themselves say that the commission's term was extended not because of the commission's needs, but at the request of the government. You are accused of delaying the election at the cost of holding it after the election, right?

The term was extended after the commission's recommendation and request. There is nothing else to think about. The act itself says that it will be added to the commission's recommendation. The government added it after their request that the time was not up.

The commission's jurisdiction extends from the repression of the 23rd to the investigation of the criminal incidents of the 24th. In this way, there has been an accusation from the beginning that the government and the Home Minister tried to cover up those involved in criminal acts. Do you accept this?

This is not true. This is a comment made by some editors and newspapers who were 'biased'. At that time, we did not have the opportunity and mechanism to provide clarification. How to control the situation at that time was a matter of great importance and concern. If they had tried to dispel the confusion at that time, it would have been dispelled. However, that was not the priority of the Ministry of Home Affairs at that time. However, it is a rumor that was spread because someone felt that such a comment should be made. In fact, that did not happen. Investigations are ongoing against all those charged. Rather, there must have been pressure from the Home Minister to file a case. The right to file a case also belongs to the District Government Attorney's Office. The right to investigate and prosecute is exercised by the police and the District Government Attorney. The Ministry of Home Affairs, after I came, has not interfered in that. There has been no obstacle to independent investigation.

It seems that the government has taken a different 'approach' to election security than before. Some questions have been raised about the issue of putting the army forward. How has the government itself taken it?

The discussion on this issue started after the news came out in Kantipur. The Nepali Army is not being brought forward to conduct the election. It is the practice of making a security plan and mobilizing it accordingly since the past. 

The Commission took time to make the report credible and trustworthy. The government added it after the Commission requested more time.

The mobilization and deployment of the Election Police, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force is written in this integrated plan. We have implemented this. It is clear in this. Even now, the same integrated security plan has been made and implemented accordingly. It has been named 'Integrated Security Plan for the Election of the House of Representatives'. It was passed by the Central Security Committee. It has envisioned various mechanisms. The election will be mobilized through it.

Whatever the practice has been since the past, this time too it has been done. It is not that the army has been brought forward. The first circle will have the Nepal Police and the Election Police, the second the Armed Police Force, and the third only the Nepali Army. Apart from that, everything else will be done according to the need. Similarly, there will be a backup force of all three security agencies. They will also be mobilized according to the need. All issues will be under the integrated security plan. 

There is information that the Nepali Army has been given the responsibility of transporting the ballots this time, which is different from the previous time. Has the Nepali Army been given the ‘command’ of transporting the ballots from the polling station to the counting station?

This is not the case. There is a Chief Election Officer in the relevant constituency. In districts where there is more than one constituency, there is also another Election Officer. It is said that the Nepali Army will transport them from the place where they were printed to the office of the Election Officer in coordination with them. 

It would have been better if the civilian government had not come. After coming, one should independently 

The Integrated Security Plan has given the army the responsibility of transporting the ballots only from the Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra to the office of the District Election Officer. This practice was also done in the past. This time, it has been continued.
From the office of the Election Officer, the Polling Officer and the employees assigned there take them. They take them in coordination with the security personnel. It is not generally understood that the army will take them everywhere. This issue should not be interpreted in any other way. There is no difference between the past and the current situation. complete their responsibilities and go.

A commentary is usually created after a newspaper writes about it. But that is not the case now. We have discussed this issue a lot in the Home Ministry. The government does not take any sides, it holds fair elections. 

You said that party favoritism should not be shown. But it seems that some of the government's actions have worked in a way that helps a party or its leader. Can it work with the aim of amending the charge sheet of cases that have been filed before and making MPs in the future? How do we understand withdrawing a case through the Attorney General and filing a petition in the district court after the dispute reaches the Supreme Court?

This is a government that has emerged from the situation of the Gen-G rebellion. Once again, this government must fulfill its duty. The government should reflect on all the criticisms that have been made public now. The government should not act in a way that gives the wrong meaning to such matters and reduces trust in the government. The government should minimize such actions. I also believe that the impartiality of the government should be further strengthened. This is also the government's belief. I believe that we cannot make requests that benefit or harm any party or leader in particular.

To put it more clearly, the work of the government attorney who amended the indictment of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane for money laundering and organized crime clearly shows favoritism towards a party, doesn't it?

The Attorney General's Office itself is like a constitutional body. It decides on its own whether to prosecute or not, rather than asking the government. It goes to court regarding the work it has done. It has also gone to the Supreme Court. It seems that the court has acted independently when it goes to the district court. It has now reached the path of justice. It is now resolved from there. The government supports that process. The court should independently administer justice and decide whether or not it should be done or what should be done.

The government has divided some constituencies as sensitive for the elections to be held on 21 Falgun. How will the government secure those areas?

This issue is also included in our integrated security plan. We have divided polling stations and venues into various 'categories'. It is divided into highly sensitive, sensitive and general. 

The Attorney General's Office itself is like a constitutional body. It decides on its own whether to prosecute a case or not, rather than asking the government.

Therefore, the government will take two strategies in this regard. The government had made some predictions, but when the situation started to deteriorate, the strategy was changed. We have also made preparations regarding the weather. It is not possible to predict what the weather will be like in advance. It may or may not happen. A security strategy and plan have been made according to the three categories. In some places, security and strategy have to be made even after looking at the candidate. We make a separate strategy for this. This security plan is before the candidate is decided.

Our strategy will change further in case of snowfall. Then there is the issue of festivals. There is the issue of Holi. The government is working with special attention to ensure that Holi does not affect the election time during the Mithila Parikrama.

From taking precautions, we move forward by strengthening the plan and strategy regarding security. मूलतः सरकारले लिएको रणनीति नै कार्यान्वयन हुन्छ र परिस्थितिअनुसार थप सुधार गरेर पनि अघि बढ्छौं ।

केही क्षेत्रमा उपनिर्वाचन गर्नुपर्ने अवस्था भयो भने सरकारले कति दिनभित्र गर्ने तयारी गरेको छ ?

सरकार र निर्वाचन आयोगको सहजता हेरेर गरिन्छ । धेरै समय लगाउने काम हुँदैन । सुरक्षाको परिस्थिति काबुभित्र छ भनेपछि तत्कालै उपनिर्वाचन भइहाल्छ । चाँडोभन्दा चाँडो नै गर्ने नीति तत्कालीन समयमा अख्तियार हुन्छ होला ।

खासगरी दुर्गा प्रसाईंको विषयलाई लिएर सरकार र व्यक्तिबीच मुसा–बिरालोझैं भइरहेको देखिन्छ । सरकार पक्राउ गर्ने अनि अदालतले बिनाआधार पक्राउ नगर भनेर रिहा गर्ने भइरहेको छ । हरेक हप्ता पक्राउ गर्न किन राज्य लागेको छ ? यदि पक्राउ गर्ने आधार छ भने किन रिहा हुन्छन्, र रिहा हुन्छन् भने किन पक्राउ गरिन्छ ?

निर्वाचन आयोगले आचारसंहिता जारी गरेपछि निर्वाचनलाई असर पुग्ने क्रियाकलाप गरेको भनी पत्र पठाएपछि प्रहरीले पक्राउ गरेको देखिन्छ । निर्वाचनको आचारसंहिता जारी गरेपछि कसैले निर्वाचन बिथोल्ने गतिविधि गर्छ भने त्यसलाई आवश्यक कारबाहीको दायरामा ल्याउनुपर्छ । निर्वाचनलाई बिथोल्ने कार्य भनेको निर्वाचनलाई असहयोग गर्ने काम हो । 

केही क्षेत्रमा उपनिर्वाचन गर्नुपर्ने अवस्था भयो भने सरकार र निर्वाचन आयोगको सहजता हेरेर गरिन्छ । धेरै समय लगाउने काम हुादैन । सुरक्षाको परिस्थिति काबुभित्र छ भनेपछि तत्कालै उपनिर्वाचन भइहाल्छ ।

एउटै घटनामा पटक–पटक पक्राउ गरेको होइन । अलग–अलग वारदातमा पक्राउ गरिएको हो । कानुनी कारबाही हुँदा अनुसन्धान नै गर्नु हुँदैन भन्ने होइन होला । न्यायालयले गरेका कतिपय कामको पनि समीक्षा समाजमा हुने गरेका छन् । व्यक्तिको स्वतन्त्रताको पनि सम्मान हुन्छ । निर्वाचन भाँड्न खोजेको आरोप पनि लाग्छ । सरकार सन्तुलनमा हिँड्नुपर्ने हुन्छ । निर्वाचन आयोगले यसबीचमा जे निर्देशन गरेको छ, सरकारले त्यही मात्र गरेको हो । निर्वाचन भाँड्ने वा बिथोल्ने अभिव्यक्ति दिएको र हिंसा भएको छ भनेपछि आयोगले भनेबमोजिम कारबाही गरेको हो । सर्वोच्चले गैरकानुनी नै भनेको छैन । धरौटी र हाजिरी जमानीमा छोड्ने भनेको हो र अनुसन्धान चलिरहेको छ ।

जसरी समाजमा व्यक्तिको अधिकार छ, त्यसैगरी अरू समुदाय र आम जनताको पनि अधिकार छ । राष्ट्र र संविधानको पनि आफ्नो अधिकार छ । उसको पनि बाँच्न पाउने अधिकार छ । यसलाई एउटा आँखाबाट मात्र हेरिएको छ । तर सबै दृष्टिकोणबाट हेर्नुपर्छ ।

मुलुक पनि जोगाउने अनि व्यक्तिगत स्वतन्त्रता पनि जोगाउने तथा संविधान पनि जोगाउने दायित्व अहिले सरकारको छ । कसैको स्वतन्त्रता यति धेरै हुने कि, जसले मुलुकको जीवन र संविधानमाथि धावा बोल्दासम्म स्वतन्त्रता असीमित हुन्छ भन्ने लाग्दैन ।

२१ गतेको मतदानपछि मतपेटिकाको सुरक्षाको जिम्मा नेपाली सेनाले लिन्छ कि कसले लिन्छ ? यसको मतगणनास्थलसम्मको ढुवानी कसरी हुन्छ ? मतपेटिका साटियो भन्नेदेखि सरकारकै संलग्नतामा धाँधली भयो भन्नेसम्मका आरोप नआओस् भन्नका लागि सरकारको तयारी के छ ?

अहिलेको मूल रणनीति भनेकै दण्डहीनता रहन नदिने हो । जहाँ आचारसंहिता उल्लंघन हुन्छ, त्यहाँ निर्वाचन आयोगले कारबाही गर्छ । जहाँ प्रचलित कानुनको उल्लंघन हुन्छ, त्यहाँ सरकारका संयन्त्रहरूले कारबाही गर्छन् । कसैले पनि उन्मुक्ति नपाओस् र दण्डहीनता नहोस् भन्ने नीति लिएका छौं । हामीले कसैलाई जोगाउनु पनि छैन, कसैलाई विशेष रूपमा विभेद गर्नु पनि छैन । जहाँ कानुनको उल्लंघन हुन्छ वा कसुर कसैले गरेको छ भने दण्डको भागीदार बनाउँछौं । सरकारले अभियोजन गरेर कारबाहीको दायरामा ल्याउँछ भन्ने सन्देश दिएका छौं । पहिला–पहिला पक्षधरता हुन्थ्यो । प्रहरी प्रशासनको दुरुपयोग हुन्थ्यो ।

त्यसैले गर्दा गृह मन्त्रालय रोजेर आउने प्रचलन थियो । अहिले त्यस्तो केही पनि छैन । हामी निष्पक्ष रूपमा कानुन कार्यान्वयन गर्छौं । जस्तो विगतमा स्याङ्जाको चापाकोट भन्ने निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमा ९८ प्रतिशत मत खस्यो भनियो । विदेश गएका, मृत्यु भएका र मतदान गर्न नगएकाहरूको भोट हालियो भनियो, अनि जिताइयो । त्यो निर्वाचन बदर हुनुपर्ने थियो । अहिलेको सरकारले त्यस्तो क्रियाकलापलाई दण्डित गर्छ र त्यस्तो निर्वाचनलाई मान्यता दिँदैन । यस पटक यस्तो हुँदैन । यदि कहीँ कतै गडबडी हुन्छ भने त्यो निर्वाचन बदर हुन्छ । कसैले ‘बुथ क्याप्चर’ गर्छु भनेर सोच्नुभएको छ भने त्यसको अर्थ हुँदैन । हामी त्यस्ता क्षेत्रमा पुनः निर्वाचन गर्छौं । यस्तो गर्ने उम्मेदवार, राजनीतिक दल, कर्मचारी जोसुकै हुन्, उनीहरूलाई सरकारले कारबाहीको दायरामा ल्याउँछ ।

१६५ निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमध्ये कुनै एउटामा ओमप्रकाश अर्यालको नाम छुटेको जस्तो लाग्दैन ?

त्यस्तो बिलकुल होइन । म सरकारमा आएपछि निर्वाचनमा भाग लिदिनँ भनेर यसअघि नै स्पष्ट रूपमा भनेको थिएँ । र, अहिले पनि त्यसैमा अडिग छु ।

तपाईंका सहयात्री, जो मन्त्रिमण्डलमा थिए, उहाँहरू त राजीनामा दिएर पनि निर्वाचनमा जानुभयो नि ?

यसमा म सधैं स्पष्ट छु । मैले कहिल्यै पनि दुईतिर टेकेको छैन । मेरो दोहोरो मापदण्ड हुँदैन । यो सरकारमा कि त आउँदै नआएको भए हुन्थ्यो । आएपछि यो दलीय नभई नागरिक सरकार भएकाले आफ्नो जिम्मेवारी स्वतन्त्रतापूर्वक सम्पन्न गरेर जानुपर्छ । सरकारको स्वीकार्यता नहोला भनेर नै नागरिक सरकार बनेको हो नि । सरकारको मन्त्री भएपछि निष्पक्ष र धाँधलीरहित निर्वाचन गराउनुपर्छ । त्यसैले सरकारको मन्त्री बन्न स्वीकार गरेको क्षणदेखि नै मेरो भावना कतै पनि राजनीतिमा लाग्ने रहेन । मैले सुरुमै म यो निर्वाचनमा भाग लिन्नँ भनेको थिएँ ।

विभिन्न उम्मेदवारले जित्ने सुनिश्चित भएको जस्तो अवस्था र लहर देखिएको छ । निर्वाचनलाई तपाईंले ‘मिस’ गर्नुभएको छैन ?

मैले केही पनि ‘मिस’ गरेको छैन । देश यत्रो संकटमा परेको समयमा मन्त्री भएर सेवा गर्न पाउनु सानो विषय होइन । यसमा शुद्ध चित्त र शुद्ध भावनाले काम गर्नुपर्छ । यो ठूलो जिम्मेवारी थियो । यसलाई बीचमै छोडेर जान सक्ने अवस्था थिएन । यो सरकारलाई बीचमै छोडेर जाँदा सरकार मात्र असफल हुँदैनथ्यो, देश पनि असफल हुन सक्थ्यो नि । त्यसकारणले सरकारलाई कमजोर बनाउने काम गर्नु हुँदैन । चुनाव गराउने सरकारको जिम्मेवारी लिएपछि चुनाव सम्पन्न गरेर मात्र बाहिरिनुपर्छ । त्यस्तै अर्को कुरा, निर्वाचन गराउने सरकारको जिम्मेवारी लिएपछि हरहमेसा शुद्ध र निष्पक्ष हुनुपर्छ । पक्षधरता लिनु हुँदैन । कि त आउनै भएन, आएपछि त निर्वाचन सम्पन्न गरेर मात्रै जानुपर्छ भन्ने मेरो मान्यता हो । म त्यही मान्यतामा अडिग भएर बसेको छु । सरकारमा रहँदाको बखत पक्षधरता लिनु हुँदैन ।