Kathmandu, Oct 19: Nepal’s deposed Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday said the current government is trying to arrest him without sufficient ground while claiming that it is not serious in conducting the general election on March 5, 2026.
During his first interaction with editors and senior journalists in Kathmandu over a month after his ouster from power, Oli said his party, CPN-UML, will seek reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives.
The former PM added that the government was trying to arrest him by hook or crook, though there was no sufficient ground for the same.
Oli resigned in early September after violent protests by the youth-led Gen Z group against his government over corruption and a ban on social media.
Former top judge Sushila Karki became the interim prime minister on September 12. President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved parliament on her recommendation. The next general election is set to take place on March 5, 2026.
The Gen Z youths were asking the government to arrest then Prime Minister Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, holding them responsible for excessive use of force against the Gen Z youths during the agitation.
He also expressed the view that the arson and vandalism done during the Gen Z protests were through infiltration of external elements, but didn’t specify who they were.
He also criticised the government over the withdrawal of some of his security personnel despite the threat against him, adding that the government has not created an environment to conduct a free and fair election.
The Chairman of CPN-UML said that after he was rescued by the Nepal Army from the Prime Minister’s residence at Baluwatar following the attack by the agitators from which he narrowly escaped, his mobile phone was seized for a few days.
Oli also claimed that during his tenure, the law and order situation was better and the press was more secure, adding that now the media has become insecure and they have started self-censorship.
He also accused the media of not covering the vandalism and arson done in the name of the Gen Z group that destroyed many important government buildings, including the Prime Minister’s Office at Singhdurbar, the Supreme Court, Parliament Building and the anti-graft body.
Oli said that he didn’t accept the idea of Nepo-kids, floated by the Gen Z youths during their protests.
The Nepalese Gen Z youths had launched the Nepo-kids or Nepo-babe movement just before launching the Gen Z movement against corruption and the ban on social media sites on September 8 and 9.
“I couldn’t accept the Nepo-babe campaign launched by the Gen Z youths, which created terror among the Nepalese people,” Oli said.
The Nepalese Gen Z group launched Nepo-kids campaigns along with their protests against corruption, anarchy and a ban on social media to show their anger over the luxurious lifestyle of the children of influential people and political leaders funded by the money their parents allegedly earned through corruption.
Oli, during his one-hour-long statement, while responding to the questions by journalists, spent most of the time criticising the caretaker government, saying that the Karki-led government was formed in an unconstitutional manner.
However, the ex-PM did not speak a word about the excessive use of force during the two-day agitation.
Unlike the other two top leaders, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chair Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda,” who quit their top party posts, Oli didn’t quit the post of party chair. “I may come back to power if people vote for me,” Oli said in response to the queries by the journalists. “The country and my party still need me, and I am still capable of contributing to the country and the society,” he said.
After hiding in an army camp in an unknown destination outside Kathmandu following his ouster, Oli was staying in an area called Gundu in Bhaktapur district for about a couple of weeks before making a public appearance during the central committee meeting of his party a few days ago.
