PM Balen’s 'expressway style of governance’ under fire

KATHMANDU, July 15: Lawmakers from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties have begun questioning Prime Minister Balendra Shah's repeated use of the "expressway" metaphor to describe his government's style of governance.

The criticism reached a new level in Tuesday's House of Representatives meeting when even a ruling coalition lawmaker challenged the government's emphasis on speed, bringing the issue to the center of political debate.

Speaking in Parliament, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Rima Bishwakarma referred to the recent self-immolation cases involving Ganesh Nepali of Mugu, Bibek Mandal of Sarlahi, and Ashwin Raut of Buddhanagar. She questioned whether the very people for whom laws are being drafted are instead becoming their victims.

"Have citizens reached a point where they must resort to such desperate acts just to have their pain heard and receive justice?" she asked. "Is our government, in its race to reform policies, moving too fast?"

She urged the government to exercise not only political responsibility but also social and moral responsibility with greater sensitivity. Referring to the government's "expressway" approach, she invoked a common slogan seen on trucks in Nepal: "If you rush, there's no guarantee you'll arrive. If you go slowly, you'll surely reach your destination."

Using the road safety message as a political metaphor, she argued that the government should place citizens' mental health alongside good governance on its priority list.

Earlier, Nepali Congress lawmaker Renuka Kauchha had also questioned the government's fast-paced approach while raising the issue of squatters being removed from holding centers. She warned that the government should not push ahead in the name of speed by trampling on the poor.

The latest remarks echo concerns raised by CPN UML leader Pradeep Gyawali during the opening of the RSP's first national convention. Gyawali had warned that pressing only the accelerator could lead to an accident and said every vehicle also needs brakes. In response, Prime Minister Shah argued that his government's vehicle was already on an "expressway," making brakes unnecessary along the way.

Since then, opposition lawmakers have repeatedly challenged the government's "expressway" narrative in Parliament. On Tuesday, members of the ruling coalition joined the criticism.

The fact that similar concerns have come from lawmakers representing the Nepali Congress, CPN UML, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, and coalition partner RSP suggests that questions about the government's pace are no longer confined to the opposition.

The criticism from within the ruling alliance is particularly significant. An RSP lawmaker publicly reminding the government of its moral responsibility while linking the debate to recent self-immolation cases indicates growing calls for introspection within the coalition itself.

Supporters argue that the Shah government has demonstrated confidence and decisiveness. Critics, however, say that the same urgency has overlooked the hardships faced by squatters, displaced families, and ordinary citizens living in uncertainty.

While the Prime Minister's argument that "the brakes come only after reaching the destination" may carry political appeal, critics say it leaves a fundamental question unanswered: who gets left behind, and at what cost? That question now lies at the heart of the growing debate over the government's governing style.