As Nepal goes through an internal crisis, the citizens of Nepal are vehemently protesting against the interference of Chinese in the matter. On Tuesday night, hundreds of people took to the streets in a torch rally to protest against the meddling. The protestors shunned the Nepal Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli in the torch rally, as they held placards and shouted slogans against him.
This political crisis started in Nepal when Oli dissolved the Parliament. Protests started in different parts of the country since this happened and protestors marched from the President’s residence to the Chinese Embassy. They shouted anti-China slogans and held placards that read, “Back off China”. This comes as China sent a four-member team led by Guo Yezhou, which arrived in Nepal on Sunday for a four-day visit in what is said to be their effort to “assess the ground situation” amid the split in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
The move of dissolution by the Prime Minister took place as Nepal’s President, Bidya Devi Bhandari had dissolved the Lower House on Oli’s recommendation. The move has invited 12 petitions in the country’s apex court, claiming it to be “unconstitutional”, including one by former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who filed the plea on Tuesday
After dissolving the Parliament, Oli also proposed elections on April 30 and May 10, 2021, nearly two years ahead of the schedule. Cabinet Ministers gave in their resignations, as Oli appointed eight new cabinet ministers and one minister of state on December 25. The PM has been facing pressure from the rival factions of the NCP, led by former prime minister Dahal and Madhav Nepal. NCP’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Madhav Kumar Nepal faction, on Sunday filed a no-confidence motion against Province 1 Chief Minister Sher Dhan Rai.
For his move of dissolution, Oli cited reasons that he had no support from the party insiders and there were moves to oust him from his position through impeachment by the other faction of the party.