PM Baburam Bhattarai is in a race to set new records, from choosing a Mustang car to pardoning a colleague convicted of murder. It has been proved that the Mustang was just an eyewash in the name of austerity which he himself violated by forming an expensive jumbo cabinet.

Bhattarai made the decision to promote a culture of impunity by pardoning Balkrishna Dhungel, something even his predecessors hadn't dared do. The decision has made a mockery of the independent judiciary and the rule of law. Who is Balkrishna to be granted amnesty for murder? Why is Bhattarai trying to turn Nepal into a country of criminals? Is it justifiable that a person gets acquitted of his crime just because he happens to be affiliated with the Maoist party?

If Balkrishna gets acquitted, every prisoner serving a term for murder will try to get a membership of the Maoist party. Why should Chiranjibi Wagle rot in jail? Why should Khum Bahadur Khadka and Gobinda Raj Joshi be tried in court? Why shouldn't the CA members involved in misusing red passports be pardoned? Why can't the dons of organised crime have their sentences commuted? Why is the prime minister protecting criminals? The prime minister says the right things, but his actions speak louder than his words. History may prove him to be the most incapable PM in the eyes of his domestic constituency and the international community. History will never forgive him.

Uttam Pudasaini, Jorpati