‘Durga Prasain’ has become such a name in the Nepali public circle, which has a huge crowd of listeners and followers, and there is no dearth of critics of her. His journey from the proprietor of B&C Medical College in Jhapa to the coordinator of the ‘Save the Nation, Nationality, Religion, Culture and Citizen Save Mega Campaign’ is quite dramatic. Prasain, who sometimes comes into the limelight by feeding ‘Marsi Rice’ rice to top leaders and sometimes takes people on the streets with the slogan of overturning the system, has once again been in police custody.
He was arrested from his residence in Bhaktapur on Monday evening. According to the District Police Range, Kathmandu, he was arrested this time on the charge of making statements against the election code of conduct and spreading rumours to disturb public peace and security. This is his second arrest in less than a month. After all, what is it about Prasain’s style, which takes him to the police cell again and again? There are a long range of political, legal, and social reasons behind this.
Main reason for the latest arrest: Attempt to disrupt the election
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According to the police, Prasain’s arrest this time was a direct correspondence from the Election Commission. As the time for the by-elections approached, he had made provocative speeches in various public forums and on social media challenging the election process, instigating voters and disrupting the election.
According to SSP Ramesh Thapa, chief of the Kathmandu District Police Range, he was taken under control as the rumour spread by him could have a negative impact on the society and disturb the peaceful atmosphere during the election. Earlier, on February 23, he was arrested by the Cyber Bureau in a similar case. However, at that time, he was released on bail. The state seems to have adopted a harsh policy against him after repeating the same activity within a few days of his release.
Aggressive campaign against the banking system
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One of the strongest and most serious reasons for Durga Prasai’s arrest is the ‘war’ he has waged against banks and financial institutions. He has publicly provoked the borrowers by saying that “the banks are feudal, they do not have to pay their loans and interest”. The government has termed such statements as ‘financial anarchy’, attacking the banking system, which is the foundation of Nepal’s economy.
He has challenged the financial policy of the state itself, using the sentiments of the microfinance and cooperative victims. Legally, it is a punishable offense to induce someone not to repay a loan or to organize misinformation against a financial institution. Prasai’s activities have caused a big stir in the financial sector, due to which the Rastra Bank and the Ministry of Home Affairs are seeing him as a security challenge. Every time he gets out, he tightens the front against the bank, which lands him in custody again.
Paradoxical politics from ‘Marcy’ to ‘Monarchy’
Durga Prasain’s political journey seems to be very contradictory and self-centered. At one time, he was very close to the two powerful chairmen of the then Nepal Communist Party (NCP), KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. However, when his medical college could not get affiliation, he gradually rose up against these leaders and the entire federal republican system.
Now he is carrying the agenda of reinstatement of monarchy and Hindu state. He has called the leaders of the current political parties ‘brokers’ and ‘thieves’. His anti-system campaign has irked the supporters of the system, while the state has seen him as an “anti-system” character. He is also frequently detained by the police because of his style of mobilizing crowds with provocative speeches and inciting them to take the law into their own hands.
Cybercrime and Personal Character Assassination
Prasain has been accused of being extremely indecent in the language and style he uses in social media and YouTube interviews. He has made personal and misleading allegations against various women leaders, heads of constitutional bodies, and opposition businessmen. Some time ago, he made public unverified videos and documents claiming that the prime minister has billions of investments in Cambodia’s telecom company.
It was taken by the government as a “conspiracy against the state” and a “cybercrime”. Under the Cyber Law, it is a crime to defamate someone or spread false information. Prasain has been the target of the Cyber Bureau as he has repeatedly misused the digital platform to assassinate the character of the person. The main technical reason for his arrest is a conflict between his freedom of expression claims and the limits set by the law.
Strategy to make ‘arrest’ a political ‘mileage’
Many political analysts believe that Durga Prasain deliberately makes statements that could land her in jail. It could also be a kind of ‘political stunt’ for him. He wants to garner public sympathy by presenting himself as a ‘victim of the state’. With repeated arrests, his fame reaches national and international levels, which gives further publicity to his ‘campaign’.
For Prasain, the arrest is not a matter of shame but a kind of ‘medal’. He smiles at the police compound and roars louder when he leaves. Demonstrations on the streets and on social media by his supporters since his arrest have helped build his image as a “revolutionary leader”. This cycle has been very effective in keeping him in the spotlight.
Flexibility of the legal process and the cycle of ‘attendance guarantees’
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It has become a routine process for Prasain to be arrested but released on ‘attendance bail’ in a few days. The main reason for this is the legal nature of the crime he commits. Most cases relate to “speech” or “expression” in which the court or the public prosecutor’s office does not find sufficient legal grounds to detain him and investigate him.
He is making full use of the legal loophole in the Electronic Transaction Act or the exemption of bail or attendance guarantee for offences against public peace and security. However, as soon as he comes out, he repeats the same “controversial act”, forcing the police to arrest him again. Some argue that this ‘hide-and-seek’ between the state and Prasain is making a mockery of the rule of law.
Finally
The repeated arrest of Durga Prasain illustrates two strands of Nepali society. A stream that is extremely dissatisfied with the system and considers Prasain as its voice. The other stream, which believes in the rule of law and procedure, considers Prasain’s style to be ‘anarchy’.
Some of the issues he raises, such as the woes of microfinance and bank interest rates, are indeed serious problems for the common people. However, his “unruly” style of solving these problems and his “chaotic” way have always kept him in the legal loophole. Attempts to assassinate others’ character in the name of freedom of speech and destroy the system cannot save anyone from the dock of justice. Unless Prasain brings his agitation within the constitutional and dignified ambit, his series of arrests and releases is unlikely to stop.
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