Kathmandu, August 18
The use of a helicopter to evacuate Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal after he fell ill has triggered a heated exchange among lawmakers, with ruling party MPs defending the minister and opposition lawmakers questioning the government’s priorities.
The issue was first raised in Parliament on Monday and continued to dominate discussions on Tuesday, with lawmakers trading arguments both in support of and against Lamsal’s use of the helicopter.
Lamsal, who was inspecting highways and infrastructure projects in Sudurpaschim, fell ill after reaching Baitadi. He was flown by helicopter to Dhangadhi and later brought to Kathmandu on a Nepal Army Sky Truck.
He has since been discharged from hospital.
‘The government can spend millions to bring a minister, but not Rs 300,000 to help people’
Nepali Congress Chief Whip Basana Thapa criticised the government over the incident, saying ordinary citizens were still struggling to access basic services.
She said people were not receiving relief, medicines such as paracetamol or even transportation to hospitals when they needed to go for childbirth.
“Ministers who have grown up drinking mineral water and jar water in Kathmandu are taken to Kathmandu by helicopter at a cost of millions when they cannot adjust to the water and food in Karnali,” Thapa said.
“The government can spend Rs 30–35 million to bring a minister back to Kathmandu, but cannot spend Rs 300,000 to provide relief to the people.”
She also raised the issue of people struggling to obtain even a single cylinder of cooking gas.
“Listen carefully, government. The life of a citizen in Karnali is just as valuable as the life of a minister,” she said. “A helicopter reaches a minister, but an ambulance does not reach a sick citizen. Is this equality? Is this the government of the people?”
Thapa also questioned the government’s emphasis on building expressways while people in Karnali continue to face shortages of medicines.
RSP MP defends Lamsal
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Bharat Prasad Parajuli came to Lamsal’s defence soon after Thapa’s remarks.
He began by recalling Prime Minister Balen Shah, saying people who attempt to bring change often face criticism.
“In our country, people who want to do something are criticised. The present government has also become a victim of this criticism,” Parajuli said.
He said Prime Minister Shah had been working day and night with the aim of changing the country’s face but was facing criticism from all sides.
Turning to Lamsal, Parajuli said the minister had been travelling across the country to understand infrastructure and connectivity problems rather than for ceremonial purposes.
“As a representative of a responsible government, Minister Sunil Lamsal has been working day and night, driving himself from the eastern part of the country to the far west, reaching remote areas during the monsoon to understand what the connectivity problems are and what problems people are facing,” he said.
“He did not go there to cut ribbons. Yet he is criticised.”
Parajuli called for a political culture in which good work is supported and negative work is criticised, rather than criticising simply for the sake of criticism.
RSP lawmakers had questioned ministers’ frequent tours
Interestingly, another RSP lawmaker had raised concerns about ministers’ frequent field visits just a day earlier.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, RSP MP Paras Mani Gelal had urged ministers not to spend excessive time travelling outside their ministries.
“Do you want to travel around the country, or are you driven by the urgency to solve problems?” Gelal had asked. “Instead of behaving as though you are travelling on holiday, stay in the ministry. Make policies, take decisions and boost the morale of the employees.”
Gelal said lawmakers from the country’s 165 constituencies could provide information about problems in their respective areas and suggest solutions.
He also said the government did not need to spend state resources maintaining a large number of advisers for this purpose.
Instead, he urged ministers to pay attention to what people actually need.
“Today, people are struggling for gas, fertiliser, communication services, electricity and basic healthcare,” he said.
He questioned whether the conduct of ministers reflected these realities.
“A helicopter is available when a minister has a common cold, but when a citizen is dying, there is no means of getting them to a hospital. There are no doctors in hospitals,” Gelal said.
The debate over Lamsal’s helicopter evacuation continued in Parliament on Tuesday, with lawmakers putting forward contrasting views on the minister’s extensive field visits, the use of state resources and the government’s responsibility to ensure basic services for ordinary citizens.
