Whether to strengthen government control or due to reliable information about an international conspiracy against him, the then Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli banned some (un)social media platforms in August-September 2025. The resulting uproar led to the urban youth taking to the streets to protest. In the meantime, Sudan Gurung, who had reached his ancestral home to distribute water, was in a position to negotiate with the Nepali Army to elect an unconstitutional prime minister after a two-day cycle of chaos, repression, violence, arson and anarchy between 8 and 9 September 2025. There was also talk of him playing the role of the initial facilitator in bringing the then Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah to a compromise with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane, although the name of an established player in national politics, Amresh Kumar Singh, is also added to those who want to take credit for that deed. The general public can only speculate about the domestic and foreign operators and directors behind the scenes, and factual information is not available in the public sphere.

After the formation of an unconstitutional government with the initiative of the Nepali Army and the consent of the President, the dissolution of the House of Representatives, and the snap election, Gurung, the newly elected MP from Gorkha, was given the responsibility of Home Minister in the government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who has a commanding majority of almost two-thirds of the MPs. Gurung, the newly elected MP from Gorkha, did something that no mature political person could have done easily. He ordered the detention of former Prime Minister Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak based on mere allegations, completely ignoring any evidence or court process.

The same 'mother's sons' who publicly prostrated themselves to the head of the unconstitutional government have now been killed outside the propaganda mechanism (algorithm) of the Shah regime. His discussion in the public sphere is included in the story of his rise and fall. The usefulness of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the Shah regime has become more technical than political – it was necessary to create a party platform to seize power, and that task has been completed. Chairman Ravi did not just give the signal that he is sticking his neck out in the Supreme Court through his latest statement. Perhaps he had doubts already, but now he must have become convinced that even those who disagree with the Shah regime should be prepared to be sidelined if they are to obstruct or oppose the program for which the Shah regime was formed to fulfill its governmental responsibilities.

All regimes talk about public interest, but what is the underlying purpose of the Shah regime? Even those close to the dictator Shah are not clear about this. The language used by many of them in defense of their ideal politicians is almost the same – ‘The rules may not be in place, but the dictator Shah is acting with good intentions.’ If that is the case, then it becomes even more necessary to be even more careful and democratically test his every decision, because one cannot be sure about the unintended consequences of actions taken by violating the process.

In the name of good intentions, in 2015-16, nationalist dolemen used to carry the doli of Sharma Oli, the ethnic chief of the Khas-Aryan community, on their shoulders again and again and drive their idol. It seemed that he was the common political hero of all Nepalis. But fate changed, the coin was flipped and the power was changed. The purity of intentions could not save the ethnic chief who was caught in the process of violating the process. Now, his persecution has become a full-time enterprise of the same kind of ex-nationalists and neo-developmentalists. Today, the elected dictator Shah is being hailed everywhere. Sharma Oli's political doles of yesterday have been reduced to 'jhole' today, while new doles are seen lining up to carry the burden of the Maharaja's propaganda machine in the cafes near the palace of Baluwatar, Jwagalko Gali and Kupandol.

This new 'Bhakta-Bhashya', covered with the purity of intention and the charm of nationalism, looks like a new version of the ruling arrogance. The instrument to measure intention, the measuring tape or the weighing scale has not been made yet. The numbers coming out of the ballot box are just a contract of public trust, which should not be broken, not only the result, but also the rigor of the method. When character prevails over system and person over idea, then it should be understood that the destination of the new rulers is the same dark tunnel of ‘regressive favoritism’ that the rulers of yesterday led to, where the decision to enter is theirs, but when they are thrown out, someone else comes to the fore.

The ruler Shah is a loyal player who has the potential to last a long time in the political arena – like the famous dialogue ‘Lambi Raceka Ghoda’ expressed about the character played by Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s Hindi film ‘Deewar’. He still has a long creative and productive life ahead of him. He is a well-educated person with modern education. His family heritage is significant. Having become a resident of Kathmandu from Mahottari, he is not burdened by the burden of Madhesi identity. He probably thinks – ‘I will do what I feel like, if I can’t do it, I will go back to singing rap songs.’ He may not have heard it, but the Kirtan singers of Madhesh who were engaged in a kind of Kirtan used to say carelessly at one time – ‘Let the world go to hell, we are all equals’. But since such deviations in a political figure with infinite potential are not only not in his personality but also in the interest of the country, it is the duty of his vocal supporters and exclusive devotees to keep him alert. It is also the duty of his well-wishers to remind him that praise given in response to the whims of the handlers may be good for publicity, but it will not be of long-term benefit. It is the supreme duty of intellectuals to constantly tell the truth to the government.

A state of improvisation
is not a power that the elected ruler Shah earned with little pain. As the incumbent mayor, he had to stop the fire engines of the metropolis while the capital was burning. After the seemingly unexpected Haripit rebellion, he had to dare to propose becoming the interim prime minister. He had to suggest to the leaders of the September coup to negotiate with the military leadership instead of the president. He had to mobilize facilitators to take over the party that was in place without making plans to form a new party. He may have felt bitter when he had to go out on a campaign trip in an expensive four-wheeler demanded by young people from wealthy families. He had to identify himself as a ‘Madhesi Chhauda’ for the first time in his life, standing in front of the Janaki Temple in Janakpur. (A) It may have been relatively easy to raise an army of commentators on social media, but it would not have been easy to end the ‘rule of three tyrants’ without the propaganda machinery of the Panchayat-era intellectuals and opportunistic journalists.

The hereditary king was Prithvi 'Narayan' Shah, so he gave a divine sermon saying 'Chetna Bhaya'. The elected ruler is Balendra 'Nar' Shah, so he gives an unspoken warning - 'The party may belong to others, but the power is mine.' It would have been unfair not to be able to do a little bit of arbitrariness with the strength of the two-thirds majority that was barely achieved after all that effort. He likes to dress as he pleases. He wears diamond studs in his ears to strengthen his Suryavanshi claim. He leaves the President's address in the middle and walks out of the parliament. It is not necessary to comment on personal interests and behavior, his original identity is that of a rap singer who breaks tradition. That is why he is doing what he likes now. But he likes instant justice. All kinds of Shah regimes like justice. The hereditary king was Prithvi 'Narayan' Shah, so he left by saying 'Chetna Bhaya' and giving a divine sermon. The elected ruler is Balendra 'Nar' Shah, so he gives an unspoken warning - 'The party may belong to others, but the power is mine.' Most of those who understand him seem to be forced to keep quiet. However, no matter how enthusiastic he is, one thing that should not be forgotten is that with the privilege given by the overwhelming majority, the burden of immense public expectations, the burden of moral responsibility, and the risk of arrogance come together. The theoretical warning that ignoring the process by showing intentions and rules will lead to democracy, majority rule, and totalitarianism is not new.

The concept of the ‘dual state’, put forward by German thinker Ernst Fraenkel in the 1930s, has provided an important basis for understanding the signs and trends of authoritarianism. In a dual state, there is a normative state, where the affairs of the state are carried out according to rules, laws, and established procedures. Private property, commercial contracts, and the general legal affairs of citizens are managed according to predetermined laws. In the same state, a parallel power remains active – a kind of prerogative state, where decisions are taken in the name of discretion, exceptions, and immediate needs. This is that part of the state where ordinary law does not work. Here, the ruler or political power can make decisions according to its will without being restricted by any law, custom, method, statute, or tradition. Under this, actions such as state of emergency, repression and arrest of political opponents are carried out and where unlimited power is used in the name of national security, immediate justice, correcting past wrongs or extraordinary circumstances.

Such a regime is not born in opposition to democracy, but rather such a dual state often grows in the name of democratic opinion. The law is not abolished, but its application becomes selective. Institutions are not destroyed, but they are circumvented or managed to weaken. The vocabulary remains the same, but the meaning changes. As the signs of a pretextual state are beginning to appear in the initial decisions of the dictator Shah, we have to worry about his future as well as the future of the country.

When the former Prime Minister and party chairman was detained without any facts, evidence or court proceedings, the leaves of the CPN-UML may have rustled, but the branches did not shake. No one is saying that former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is a very honest politician, but the allegation that he is the subject of a ruthless international witch hunt for biased action seems equally unfounded - if he had been brought before the court after completing the legal process, it would have sent a message that the rule of law is in place in Nepal. However, the legitimacy of such decisions is not established by the fact that the relevant parties have become unresponsive to the humiliation of the displaced party leaders.

It is true that since the political parties were banned, the student organization has been their shield of protection and the sword of counterattack. The accusation that academic activities are being disrupted in the name of student politics is also not entirely wrong. But just because the dictator Shah put them all in one basket and signed a 'sleeper cell' without even discussing possible ways of reform, and no one spoke out, does not establish the indirect claim that he himself learned politics from his teachers. Despite the court's immediate relief, the silence of the student community is surprising. No matter what his own party says, the dictator Shah keeps ministers he likes and removes those he doesn't like. 'Dozer terror' has been unleashed across the country in broad daylight under the pretext of removing encroachment on public land. An ordinance has been introduced by circumventing Parliament and a ruckus has been caused in the Supreme Court through the Constitutional Council. It is not that the candidates recommended for the Chief Justice are not qualified, but the Shah regime is unable to give a reliable answer as to how the judges senior to him were less qualified.

The dismissal of nearly 1,500 pre-appointed officials along with university officials can also be considered as 'irresponsible dereliction of duty', but the implication of such a step cannot be anything other than a complete seizure of power. सेप्टेम्बर विध्वंसमा राजनीतिकर्मीहरू सँगसँगै व्यवसायीहरूको घर र व्यापारमा आगो झोसिएको थियो, अहिले केही उद्यमी र व्यापारीलाई छानीछानी तिनको सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठामा हिलो छ्यापेर मानमर्दन गरिँदै छ । कानुन सबैका लागि समान हुनुपर्छ तर त्यसका लागि न्यायका प्रक्रिया पूरा गरिएको देखिनु पनि उत्तिकै जरुरी हुन्छ । व्यावहारिकतावादको दर्शनमा तथ्यात्मक संकेतहरू प्रत्यक्ष प्रमाणभन्दा बढी प्रभावशाली हुन्छन् । जस्तो कि, यदि कुनै जनावर सिकारी जस्तै लुसुक्क हिँड्छ, सिकारीझैं गर्जन्छ र सिकारीले जस्तै आक्रमण गर्छ भने, प्रबल सम्भावना यो हो कि त्यो एउटा सिकारी जनावर नै हो । शाह सत्ताका प्रारम्भिक गतिविधि र योजनाबद्ध खेलाँचीलाई सूक्ष्म रूपले नियाल्ने हो भने त्यसभित्र लुकेको सर्वसत्तावादी प्रवृत्तिको पदचाप अब छर्लंग देखिन थालेको छ ।

जनमतको ताज पहिरेर उदाएको अधिशासकमा सत्ताको सौन्दर्य, वैधताको सुगन्ध एवं समर्थनको संगीतले गर्दा प्रक्रियागत जटिलतालाई ‘झन्झट’ ठान्दै निर्णायक ढंगले अघि बढ्ने प्रलोभन पैदा हुनु अस्वाभाविक होइन । त्यस प्रवृत्तिलाई बेलैमा नियन्त्रण गर्न भने जरुरी हुन्छ । अधिशासक शाह लामो दौडका राजनीतिक घोडा हुन्, त्यसैले उनलाई सर्वसत्तावादको रथमा जोत्ने प्रपञ्चबाट जोगाउन पनि निरन्तर खबरदारी जरुरी देखिन गएको हो ।

आलोचकहरूको हिचक
दाग लागेकाहरूको बहिर्गमन नयाँ सुरुवात जस्तो देखिन्छ । तर भत्काउने दक्षता, बनाउने क्षमता, जनस्वीकार्यता र प्रजातान्त्रिक वैधता बहुसंख्यकवादले मात्रै स्थापित गर्छ भन्ने मान्यता यथार्थपरक होइन । वास्तवमा प्रजातन्त्र परिणामभन्दा बढी प्रक्रियामा आधारित हुन्छ । परामर्शको ढिलोपन, असहमतिका आवाजहरूको सुनुवाइ र संस्थागत सन्तुलन कमजोरी नभएर समाजको सबभन्दा पिँधमा रहेका सामान्यजनका संवैधानिक र नैतिक सुरक्षा कवच हुन् । त्यति कुरा गर्न पनि ‘म सत्ताको आलोचक त होइन’ भन्ने वाक्यबाट वार्तालाप सुरु गर्नुपर्ने बाध्यताले अधिशासक शाहका दृश्य र अदृश्य पृष्ठपोषकहरूको आक्रामक गतिविधि र जनवृत्तमा व्याप्त आतंकलाई दर्शाउँछ । नेपालबाट ‘कम्युनिस्ट निमिट्यान्न पार्ने’ सत्ताधारीको सम्भाव्य योजनाको महँगो लागत सामान्यजनबाट असुलउपर गर्ने बहुसंख्यकवादी अतिक्रमणको प्रतिरोध सच्चा प्रजातन्त्रवादीहरूले पनि गर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ, त्यसो किन हो भने एक पटक तजबिजी शासनको बक्सा खुल्यो भने त्यो सितिमिति बन्द हुँदैन ।

प्रक्रियागत विचलनको बाढीलाई रोक्न प्रतिनिधिसभाको गणितले पुग्दैन, त्यसैले कार्यपालिकालाई लगाम लगाउने व्यवस्थापिकाको क्षमता कमजोर देखिन्छ । तर संसदीय प्रक्रिया फगत संख्याहरूको खेल होइन । संसद्मा सत्ताधारी वा विपक्षमध्ये जुनसुकै तर्कशील सांसदको प्रस्तुतिले ‘अंगदको खुट्टा’ भएर भजन मण्डल र भोजन मण्डलीभित्र रमाउनेहरूलाई अत्याउन सक्छ । राज्यका अन्य अंगहरूमाथि शक्ति सन्तुलन कायम राख्ने न्यायपालिकाको ल्याकत पनि बाहिरबाट आकलन गरिएजस्तो क्षीण भइसकेको छैन । न्यायाधीशहरूको नियुक्ति संवैधानिक परिषद्को प्रक्रियाबाट भए तापनि उनीहरू जनउत्तरदायी हुन्छन्, संविधानको रक्षाका लागि प्रतिबद्ध हुन्छन् र आफ्नै अन्तःस्करणबाहेक अरू कसैको अधीनमा रहँदैनन् ।

अन्ततः नयाँ र पुराना मिडियालाई मञ्च बनाएर सामान्यजनलाई सचेत तुल्याउँदै सत्तालाई खबरदारी गर्ने अभिभारा सार्वजनिक बौद्धिक र जनसरोकारका टिप्पणीकारहरूको हुन जान्छ । सरकारलाई १०० दिने मधुमासमा ‘शंकाको लाभ’ दिने प्रचलन सत्ता कब्जा गर्ने अवस्था र तत्क्षण सूचना प्रवाहको कालखण्डका लागि उपयुक्त हुँदैन । शाह सत्ताले जनताको निगरानी गरिरहेको सार्वजनिक जानकारी दिइसकेको छ, त्यसैले निगरानी गर्नेहरूको निगरानी गर्नु नागरिक कर्तव्य पनि बन्न पुगेको छ ।