Prime Minister Oli calls all-party meet as anti-govt protests intensify in Nepal
Kathmandu (PTI): Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday called an all-party meeting to discuss Nepal's fast-deteriorating political situation amid intensifying student-led anti-government protests that have spread across the country.
Oli issued a statement announcing the meeting for 6:00 pm, though the venue was not specified.
He said dialogue was the way to resolve the crisis.
“Violence is not the way. We need to find a peaceful way out through dialogue,” Oli said.
The protests have escalated despite curfew orders in Kathmandu and other parts of the country.
Demonstrators are demanding Oli's resignation, saying the Home Minister's exit is not sufficient.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned on Monday after police's use of force on violent protests by youths against a government ban on social media sites left 19 people dead and over 300 others injured.
“Home Minister's resignation is not enough, the Prime Minister should take the responsibility and resign,” a protester said.
Meanwhile, major online news portals have strongly criticised Monday’s police crackdown in Kathmandu, describing it as one of the deadliest days in Nepal’s recent history.
Popular news portal Ukeraa.com described September 8 as “a black day” when “the most number of demonstrators were killed in a single day in the history of Nepal”.
The media outlet demanded Oli's resignation.
Another news portal, Ratopati, accused the government of indiscriminately opening fire on protesting youths and students, describing the "cowardly action" as “highly deplorable”.
The portal noted that the agitation, spearheaded by young Nepalis, was not politically motivated but fuelled by frustration over corruption, nepotism, unemployment and growing social disorder.
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Congress demands PM Modi to come clean on 'disclosures' on him made in Epstein files
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from Narendra Modi following “disclosures” in the Epstein files in the US that some “monsters” had access to him, and said the prime minister should come clean on the issue.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, said in a post on X, "The reports of the new batch of Epstein Files are a huge wake-up call about the kind of monsters who have access to PM Modi, and how susceptible he is to foreign manipulation.
"The Congress demands that the prime minister personally come clean on these disturbing disclosures that raise serious questions.”
“Has he met Jeffrey Epstein? Or did he send someone to meet him? What did his conversations with Epstein involve,” the Congress leader asked.
The Epstein files are thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Venugopal claimed equally concerning was a report that while India’s foreign policy was changing dramatically, Prime Minister Modi was “dancing and singing” to the tunes of “tainted” individuals like Epstein to “benefit foreign powers”.
“People of India deserve an answer,” Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "The prime minister himself must clarify.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera also asked whether Modi was in touch with a "disgraceful" American such as Epstein right around the 2019 elections.
On Saturday, the BJP accused the Congress of spreading misinformation against Prime Minister Modi by "twisting" a generic email fragment of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein into a political smear, asserting that there is "zero evidence" of any direct or indirect interaction between the two.
The Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected a reference to Modi in the investigative files related to Epstein, describing it as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal" that deserves to be dismissed with the "utmost contempt".
