By Our Reporters
Durga Prasain, a medical entrepreneur, has been able to keep the government as well as the mainstream political parties on their toes.
It is evident from the two latest moves of the government, in the support of the ruling parties and the main opposition party, the KP Sharma Oli-led CPN (UML), to which Prasain was affiliated until a few months ago.
Recently, the government imposed a ban on TikTok, and on Monday, it expanded the restricted areas in Kathmandu solely to curtail the increasing activities of Prasain.
Likewise, on Tuesday, Lalitpur DAO also declared the area near the Pulchowk-based Ministers’ Quarters as a restricted area. Although the government has been giving other reasons for the ban imposed on TikTok, the people have not believed them. Instead, they have a firm belief that the ban was because of the rising confrontation between Prasain and the CPN-UML. Surprisingly, the top leaders of the three major parties—the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, and the Maoist Centre—came together while curtailing the people’s right to expression by imposing the ban. They had strongly opposed a similar move taken by the former king in 2004.
The government imposed a ban on TikTok use and included the area from Maitighar to New Baneshwor in the in list of restricted areas targeting Prasain’s demonstrations on Thursday. The CPN-UML-affiliated Yuwa Sangh and its student wing also scheduled demonstrations at the same venue on the same date. When the Yuwa Sangh unveiled its plan for demonstrations in Kathmandu on Thursday to counter Prasain, the government was worried, fearing clashes between the two groups. Both Prasain and Yuwa Sangh had chosen Maitighar to stage their protests. However, now that the government has imposed a ban on any rallies in Maitighar, the Yuwa Sangh has said it would organize its program at Tinkune. The Prasain-led group has not unveiled its plan after the government included Maitighar in its prohibited areas for a month, allotting Balkhu to Prasain for his assembly.
Monday’s decision to extend the restricted areas through the Kathmandu District Administration showed how the government was afraid of the demonstrations of the two rival groups.
Obviously, the enmity between Prasain and UML increased after the former started revealing the wrongdoings of Oli and other UML leaders. Recently, Prasain unveiled a video showing how he managed a girl for UML leader Mahesh Basnet. This incident is widely believed to have prompted the government to impose a ban on TikTok under the pressure of Oli.
Angered by the revelation of the unethical activities of the UML leaders, the party decided to counter Prasain and scheduled its protest for Thursday. Now that the Yuwa Sangh has decided that it would organise its protest at Tinkune, it is not known where Prasain will be demonstrating. However, one thing is true the government and the major parties have feared Prasain because of their non-performance and corrupt activities.
Fed up by the growing corruption and poor performances by the major parties, people supported Prasain, which encouraged him to organise the rally in Kathmandu. And the ruling establishment has termed Prasain’s plan rally as against the existing political system.
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