KATHMANDU: Gyanendra Shahi, parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), has said that no law, position, power or popularity is greater than the life of a citizen.
In a Facebook post written in a poetic style, Shahi expressed his views following the death of 25-year-old Ganesh Nepali of Soru Rural Municipality-1 in Mugu, who died while undergoing treatment after setting himself on fire outside the Department of Passports in Tripureshwor, Kathmandu.
Shahi said laws are enacted to protect people’s lives, not to take them away.
“Nothing is greater than life. Laws are made to safeguard life, not to end it,” he wrote.
He also urged the state and political leadership to understand the hardships faced by citizens struggling with hunger, poverty and deprivation, saying no position, power or popularity is more important than a person’s life.
Shahi questioned whether those in power could truly understand the suffering of people who work tirelessly simply to feed their families and survive.
Referring to the recent death, he said that when a citizen is driven by despair to set themselves on fire, it is not merely an individual’s death but a serious question about the state’s responsibility.
He further argued that political popularity is meaningless if the government cannot protect the lives of its citizens, adding that applause, slogans and public support cannot erase people’s suffering or guarantee their dignity.
Shahi also criticized what he described as the tendency to value a political leader’s popularity over the loss of a human life.
Concluding his remarks, he said the true strength of a state is measured by the safety of its citizens and that no government, authority or popularity can ever be greater than the lives of the people.
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