THE issues surrounding the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact have polarised Nepali society since the signing of an agreement on this in 2017. During these times, common citizens, media persons, the business community, political parties, leaders, party workers and all and sundry have taken their respective positions either for or against the endorsement and implementation of the agreement. It seems that the whole of the country is engrossed to the MCC compact as the deadline (February 28) set for its endorsement nears. Political parties, especially the ruling coalition, have been making hectic moves so that the US grant agreement would go ahead smoothly in parliament.

While the political parties supporting the compact are engaged in finding ways to its approval through the sovereign parliament while those that are against it are doing their best to block it at the parliament. To pile pressure against the present government that is moving ahead to get the US grant project approved, the political parties opposing the MCC compact have brought their workers to the streets. Those who are against this infrastructure project are often found turning the streets and public places into battlegrounds. Police personnel stationed to secure parliament and other government buildings are forced to resort to using force, water cannons and batons to quell the violent protests or disperse angry party workers who run amok in these places. Such protestors who can often be associated with certain political parties pelt bricks, stones or whatever they have against security personnel out of frustration and anger. The same frustration leads them to cause damage or destroy public properties such as roads, pavements, street railings, dividers and public buildings and public and private vehicles.

Recently, angry party workers, allegedly belonging to one of the ruling coalition partners, staged a protest rally in front of the parliament building at New Baneshwore, disrupting traffic and damaging nearby roads, pavements, railings and other properties. As security personnel tried dispersing them, they used bricks from pavements, asphalt of the road and branches of trees against the police officers. Once they left, the roads were littered with these items reflecting their destructive nature while the same angry protests saw many injured, some of them severely. People were aghast to see the busy road section being turned into a battleground by the political workers.

In a democracy, people have a right to hold protests. But they should organise them without infringing on the rights of others and without causing any damage to public and private properties. Political parties and leaders should tell workers to exercise maximum restraint during protest rallies. They should ask them not to cause any harm to the people and properties, which belong to the nation. The workers, therefore, should not destroy them out of their momentary frustration. They should be reminded that they cannot make any substantial gains by breaking railings, pavements and trees. They may hate a compact or any government programme, but it is only an act of idiocy to cause damage to public properties as a way to vent their frustration against the government. These 'frustrated' party workers must restrain themselves and cause no harm to public properties, no matter how angry they are over any compact or government policy.