Kathmandu (
AsiaNews) - Politicians and corrupt officials are attempting to mask their
" misdeeds " , which made Nepal one of the most corrupt countries in
the world with assiduous visits and lavish offerings to the Hindu temples.
December
3 scores between politicians , government officials and businessmen went early
in the morning in the temples of Pashupatinath, Bhadrakali and Dakshinkali , to
pay their respects to the Hindu deities . Janu
Gubaju , assistant priest of the temple of Bhadrakali confirms that "dozens
of high-level politicians and bureaucrats have visited the holy place ,
offering food and prayers to the gods ." However,
the man does not know "the reasons that led these people to visit the temple."
The
same scene took place in the temples of Pashupatinath and Dakshinkali .
According
to local media the move is an attempt to escape the strict checks by the Commission
for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Ciaa ) . Recently
the Commission has filed a complaint with the Special Court for corruption cases
against 64 senior government officials and entrepreneurs and launched a
campaign of raids and investigations to stop them. The
64 officials are accused of having created a parallel system of buying and
selling of illegal immigrants used as cheap labor.
Speaking
of the ongoing investigation and the "religious fervor" shown by some
suspects, Lokman Karki , president of Ciaa , states: " No Hindu deity will
save them . We are investigating - he adds - and seeking among the many cases
filed with our head office and soon we will present a case against them. Among
these people there are many political leaders , bureaucrats and senior officers
of the security agencies . "
According
to the "2013 Corruption Perceptions Index" ( CPI ) report released by
the organization Transparency International, Nepal is the 116th place in the
ranking of perceptions of corruption out of 177 countries surveyed . The
worst are Somalia , North Korea , Myanmar and Afghanistan. The
result is better than the 2010-2011 period, which had earned the country 154th
place. Bishnu
Bahadur KC , chairman of Transparency International points out that "
there is still an urgent need for action to reduce corruption in Nepal ."
In
these years of political chaos in Nepal different committees and organizations have
been set up to combat endemic corruption , among them: the CIAA , the Special
Court for corruption , the National Warning ( Satarkata ) Center and the
Revenue Investigation Bureau .