Kathmandu, July 14
Whenever a government is about to collapse in Nepal, conspiracy theories abound. It’s no different this time around, when the KP Sharma Oli-led ruling coalition is about to topple.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, speaking at the national security symposium on Thursday, talked about the plot to topple his government. Here’s what he had to say:
- The exercise to form a new government is moving ahead with involvement of India. On proddings of the southern neighbour, CPN-Maoist Centre pulled out of the government. And it is India that is bringing the Maoist party and the Nepali Congress together for the formation of a new government.
- The meeting of political parties on government formation is not ‘automatic’, but battery-operated. This is very unfortunate for the country. Other parties are rejoicing and having a party when a party has left the government. (Oli said this in oblique reference to rumours that a feast was going on at the Indian Embassy after the Maoist party left the government).
- Plots have been hatched to remove my government by using the Congress and the Maoist party because I stood for the national and national self-respect during the (India-imposed) blockade.
- Braving an acute shortage of essentials during the blockade, Nepali people showed how patriotic they were. No one should, therefore, seek to interfere in Nepal by hatching plots aimed at destabilising the country.
Former prime ministers, ministers and securocrats were present at the symposium. Notably, Speaker and leaders of the Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre and RPP-Nepal were absent at the symposium that the Ministry of Defence and National Security Council had organised.
