Candles burn next to a banner with images of people who died during the recent anti-corruption protests that toppled the Nepalese government, at a candlelight vigil in front of the parliament building.
Credit: Reuters photo
Kathmandu: Nepal’s deposed prime minister K P Sharma Oli has denied that his government gave the shootout order during the ‘Gen Z’ protests on the first day of the agitation on September 8 that killed at least 19 people.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) chairman instead blamed the infiltrators for the tragedy.
“The government didn’t order to shoot at the demonstrators,” Oli claimed in a message issued on the country’s Constitution Day.
“The bullets were fired at the protesters from automatic guns, which were not possessed by the police personnel, and this must be investigated upon,” Oli claimed.
Claiming that there was “infiltration” in the “peaceful protests”, the CPN-UML chairman said, “The infiltrating conspirators turned the agitation violent, and this way our youths were killed.” Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Oli demanded an inquiry into the incident.
“The Singhdurbar Secretariat and Supreme Court were set on fire, Nepal’s map was burnt and many important government buildings were set on fire after I resigned from the post,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“I don’t want to elaborate on the conspiracies behind these incidents, time will speak for itself,” he added.
He also recalled the challenges the country had faced while promulgating the Constitution.
“The Constitution was promulgated in the midst of a border blockade and challenges against national sovereignty,” he said.
“All generations of Nepalis must unite — to confront the assault on our sovereignty and to defend our Constitution,” he added.
Oli quit on September 9 shortly after hundreds of agitators entered his office demanding his resignation for the death of at least 19 people in police action during protests on September 8.
Seventy-two people, including 3 policemen, were among the dead during the violent protests against alleged corruption and a ban on social media on September 8 and 9.