KATHMANDU, JUNE 15
Prime Minister Balendra 'Balen' Shah's post yesterday embracing two of his favourite ministers - Home Minister Sudan Gurung and Infrastructure Minister Sunil Lamsal - has remained a hot topic of discussion.
PM Shah posted a photo yesterday of himself embracing two of his ministers, captioned 'the team building the country.' Donning dark glasses, his post reads: 'PM (prime minister), HM (home minister), IM (infrastructure minister).'
While PM Shah's image with a brief caption sparked conversation across platforms, it also made its way into today's House discussion. Opposition parties' lawmakers have taken a jibe at ministers and the prime minister for posts amid a plethora of issues that the country is facing currently, from border disputes to budget debates. The post has been shared and reshared multiple times, including by Home Minister Gurung.
Yubaraj Dulal, a Nepali Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker, termed Prime Minister Shah's announcement of a 'jumbo team' of three members to develop the country. Speaking at today's House of Representatives meeting, lawmaker Dulal also took a swipe at Prime Minister Shah, saying that now that the prime minister has completed his vacation and is free, he should focus on the country's pressing issues.
For instance, a video of a group of people pushing a tempo off a cliff went viral on social media today.
In the video, people can be heard cheering as if they have accomplished something heroic after throwing the tempo off the cliff. Individuals in forest guard uniforms and other forest department employees were among those who pushed the vehicle off the cliff.
The video was shot in Baspani, on the Bhimdatta Highway in Godawari Municipality's Ward 4, Kailali. Although the incident occurred on June 12, the video was only released yesterday. Since its release, the video has received widespread criticism, with many calling it an inhumane act.
It is reported that the tempo was parked on the roadside of the Godawari Community Forest, and it was pushed off the cliff during a drive to clear encroachments in the Gaimare Chure forest area.
In response to the incident, Home Minister Gurung has shared in his social media story writing, "12 government officers arrested for inhumane act towards a citizen."
Speaking during the zero hour, Dulal drew the government's attention to the fact that Mechi's tea industries are on the verge of closure as a result of India's import ban. He also reiterated his demand today that the prime minister's recent border-related statement be removed from Parliament records. He maintained that the speaker should rule on the matter and that the prime minister should clarify.
CPN-UML Chief Whip Ain Mahar alerted the government to the suspicious death of a 23-year-old health worker in Bajhang.
Speaking during the House of Representatives' emergency hour today, he stated that a situation has arisen in which the prime minister and home minister are on vacation and fooling around on social media while Anisha Dhami died mysteriously in a remote area.
Anisha Dhami (23), a local of Kedarsyu Rural Municipality-7, Bajhang, was working as the auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) of Barapokhari Rural Municipality Ward 1 of Khotang district. She was found dead last night. "A health worker, who was on leave, was found dead in her own room last night. How could a health worker, who went to bed healthy in her room, be found dead in the morning? This is proof that she has been murdered," he said.
Meanwhile, the deputy parliamentary party leader of CPN-UML, Padma Aryal, accused the government of playing the politics of threats to stifle constructive criticism.
Aryal challenged the government to open the investigation files of the opposition and said Finance Minister Swarnim Waglé took an irresponsible approach in responding to questions on the budget.
"You have threatened to open the files. The lawmakers who spoke before me recently mentioned this, and I repeat it today: Let the tea estate file be opened as top priority," Aryal said. "Whether it's Omni, Widebody, or any other files related to the opposition, they are in your hands. I want to tell the government, through this House, to open them. Let the truth out."
Aryal said the opposition would not escape any probe.
While Aryal raised the issue in the context of a tea estate, she did not mention if it was the Giribandhu Tea Estate scam, an issue raised repeatedly against the former prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Former PM and CPN-UML Chairman Oli is associated with the incident of a policy decision made for making possible the sale and purchase of land of Giribandhu Tea Estate.