Nepal’s former PM Oli arrested over Gen Z protest crackdown last year
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal’s Former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday, a day after the newly formed government of Balendra Shah implemented the probe commission report on the Gen Z protest that rocked the nation last year.
Oli, also CPN-UML chair, was arrested at the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, 12 km east of Kathmandu, early Saturday morning, according to the police.
Former Home Minister and Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak has also been arrested from his residence at Katunje of Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur district, police added.
Both Oli and Lekhak have been arrested on charges of their involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement of September 8 and 9 last year, in which 76 people, including around two dozen youths, were killed.
The probe commission formed to investigate the incident surrounding the Gen Z movement has recommended legal action against Oli and Lekhak, among others, under criminal offence.
Nepal's newly formed government, led by Balendra Shah, in its first cabinet meeting on Friday, decided to immediately implement the recommendations made by the probe commission.
"Nobody is above the law," wrote Home Minister Sudhan Gurung in a social media post after the arrest.
"We have taken under control former Prime Minister KP Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. This is not a revenge against anybody, just the beginning of justice," he said.
"I believe that now the country will take a new direction," he added.
Both Oli and Lekhak have been taken into detention at the Kathmandu District Police Circle in Bhadrakali, said the police.
The probe commission has recommended a jail sentence of up to three to ten years for the offence.
A senior police officer at the Kathmandu District Police Circle told PTI that they will be presented before the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday, as it is a holiday on Saturday. Then the process of investigation in the case will start, he added.
K P Oli was taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for medical examination soon after the detention.
This is part of a legal process of investigation, said a police officer.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML has called an emergency meeting of the party's secretariat at its central office in Lalitpur to discuss the situation.
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Surjewala slams Pratap Simha’s ‘vile’ remarks on CM Siddaramaiah, demands apology from BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over alleged disparaging remarks made by former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during an assembly bypoll campaign in Bagalkote.
Simha made the remarks while campaigning for BJP candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath, triggering a political row ahead of the by-elections scheduled for April 9.
Congress has fielded Umesh Meti, son of former MLA late M Y Meti, whose death necessitated the bye-election.
"Pratap Simha's vile remarks about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bagalkot have exposed the BJP's despicable politics once again," Surjewala said in a social media post.
Alleging a larger political design, he added, "It is increasingly evident that Pratap Simha’s outburst is driven by desperation," and accused the BJP of using such remarks to target backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and minorities.
The Rajya Sabha member further claimed that the incident reflects a pattern within the party. "This is not one man's madness—it is the BJP’s political culture," he said, adding that the remarks were aimed at "denigrating leaders from marginalised communities".
Referring to past incidents, Surjewala said, "CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar have received death threats in the past, including one from BJP leaders who warned that their bodies would be stuffed into a refrigerator."
The Congress leader also criticised the BJP’s bypoll campaign strategy, alleging "internal contradictions".
He pointed to the party’s use of expelled MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal in campaigning despite earlier disciplinary action against him, accusing the BJP of resorting to "abuses and indignities" against opposition leaders.
Surjewala demanded immediate action from the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, state president B Y Vijayendra, and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka.
He said they must tender a public apology to Kannadigas, particularly to OBCs, SCs, and minorities, over the remarks, and urged the party to expel Simha if it does not repudiate his statements.
Surjewala also called for legal action, demanding that an FIR be registered against Simha and that strict measures be taken.
Warning of "political consequences", he said the electorate in the bypoll-bound constituencies would respond decisively if the BJP failed to apologise, asserting that voters would "teach the BJP a befitting lesson" in the elections.
There has been no immediate reaction from the saffron party yet.
