Kathmandu, May 8

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba today said Krishna Bahadur Mahara was the most ‘coward’ speaker in Nepal’s parliamentary history.

Stating that Mahara could not muster courage to delete from record the demeaning language used by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in the House yesterday, Deuba accused Mahara of siding with the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).

“The prime minister used unparliamentary language yesterday. We objected to it and requested the speaker to delete it from the records, but he ignored us,” said Deuba at an event to inaugurate the NC’s nationwide awareness campaign in Kathmandu. “I have not seen such a coward speaker in the parliamentary history.”

Deuba also said his words made before the elections that one could not even cry if communists came to the power were unfortunately coming true. He said the government was intervening in every sector but that the NC would never accept any autocracy in any forms.

Therefore, according to Deuba the NC had a huge responsibility of making people aware about the government’s autocratic acts.

“We’ve been fighting against autocracy ever since the party’s inception.

We ended the Rana regime and monarchy,” he said. “If the government does not mend its ways, we will topple it from the streets.”

Deuba also criticised President Bidhya Devi Bhandari for using phrase ‘my government’ while presenting the government’s policies and programmes in the House of Representatives last Friday.

“Former President Ram Baran Yadav said ‘Nepal government.’ Even President Bhandari used the terms ‘Nepal government’ previously,”

Deuba said. “Why does she have to say ‘my government’ now as if she’s a monarch?”

The NC today launched the awareness campaign titled ‘Himal Pahad Tarai Madhes Nepali Congress Rastriya Jagaran Abhiyaan’ simultaneously in all 77 districts.

The year-long campaign to be executed in three phases is aimed at informing NC members and well-wishers about the amended party statute, instilling energy in all NC members and units, informing people about achievements realised under the leadership of the NC, and informing them about corruption scandals and wrong policies of the government.

Other objectives of the campaign are listening to the people’s grievances and working to address them, garnering public support for constitution amendment to address grievances of the people in Tarai-Madhes, informing people about the government immaturity in terms of conducting diplomacy, pressuring all three tiers of government to work as per their commitments, cautioning the government over its moves to curtail press freedom and freedom of expression, expanding party membership and imparting training on workers.

Programmes to be run during the campaign include gatherings, distribution of party memberships, running training programmes in both Nepal and abroad, expediting record-keeping, paying respect in locations of historical incidents during struggle, honouring party veterans reaching their doorsteps, and meeting family members of martyrs and seeking their suggestions on strengthening the party.

Similarly, the party’s sister organisations — Nepal Women’s Association, Nepal Tarun Dal, Nepal Student Union, Nepal Trade Union Congress, Nepal Dalit Association, Nepal Farmers Association, National Democratic Disabled Association, Nepal Democratic Army Association, Nepal Teacher’s Association and the party’s public relations offices aboard—will also conduct various programmes during the campaign.