Kathmandu, Mar 28 (PTI) Nepalese political parties on Saturday criticised the newly formed Balendra Shah government over the arrest of former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli for the 2025 Gen Z protest crackdown.
Oli and Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak have been arrested on charges of their involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement of September 8 and 9 last year, in which 76 people, including around two dozen youths, were killed.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Lennist) Secretary Mahesh Basnet called the arrest of party chair Oli a “political revenge” and said that the Balendra Shah-led government is displaying prejudice.
Hours after Oli’s arrest, CPN (UML) called an emergency Central Secretariat meeting to decide the party’s next course of action.
The secretariat held a meeting to clarify the party’s position and decide on the programme of the upcoming struggle following the vindictive arrest of Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Basnet said in one of several posts on social media.
In the meeting, the party demanded the immediate release of KP Sharma Oli, it said.
The party plans to hold demonstrations on behalf of public organisations at the headquarters of each district on Saturday at 3 pm.
CPN (UML) has also decided to hand over protest letters to the Chief District Officers (CDO) of all 77 districts across Nepal on Sunday.
The party said it will launch a political and legal battle against the arrest in collaboration with civil society members and the general public.
Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in the Himalayan nation, alleged the “action by the Balendra Shah-led government against Oli and Lekhak has been selective”.
“Instead of seeking to resolve the issue through impartial investigation, the government tried to complicate the process,” said a statement by Nepali Congress spokesperson Dev Raj Chalise.
“The government should conduct an impartial and transparent investigation into the incidents of September 8 and 9 and follow due legal procedure,” the statement said.
“If the government loses patience and takes a decision in a hurry, it will drag the country towards further conflict and instability,” the statement warned.
Earlier, senior Nepali Congress leader and House of Representatives member Arjun Narsingha KC called for a neutral and transparent investigation into the matter, adding that due procedures be followed.
He called for an investigation into the events of the attack on many government offices, including the Supreme Court and the Government Secretariat Singhdurbar, during the Gen Z protest.
He termed the investigation into the killings during the Gen Z protests last year in September as “insufficient”.
There should not be any type of prejudice while making such an investigation, he added.
“No doubt it was essential to implement the report of the probe commission, but due process should be followed,” said former Science Minister Ganesh Shah.
“It seems that the government has taken action in a hurry,” he added.
Nepal’s former Home Minister and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party Nepal (RPP-N) leader Kamal Thapa also criticised KP Sharma Oli’s arrest and said that the government seems to be on the path of prohibition, revenge, and prejudice.
The Balen government was formed with the goal of good governance and economic prosperity, he said in a social media post.
“Conflict and confrontation should not be anyone’s priority in the current era,” Thapa said, adding that adherence to the rule of law, mutual reconciliation, and unity are the first conditions for good governance and prosperity.
Dozens of UML cadres and supporters on Saturday organised a demonstration at the Chabahil area of Kathmandu, demanding the immediate release of Oli.
Earlier on Friday, the first Cabinet meeting of the newly formed government, chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, decided to immediately implement the report of the high-level commission’s investigation into the Gen Z movement in September last year. PTI SKS/SBP RD PY PY
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