Kathmandu, Aug 17: Residents of Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality Ward 9 in Gorkha have asked Home Minister Sudan Gurung to fulfil promises he made during the election campaign. Gurung, however, told them that he could not transform the area within four months and suggested they “take back their votes” instead.
Gurung, who was elected to the House of Representatives from Gorkha 1, made the remarks during an interaction with voters in his constituency.
As part of his previously announced plan to visit his home district every month, Gurung met residents of Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality on Saturday and Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality on Sunday.
On Sunday evening, he met voters from Ward 9 of Shahid Lakhan. Ward chair Ram Kumar Shrestha and Rastriya Swatantra Party ward secretary Khopendra Lamichhane were among those present.
Lamichhane reminded Gurung that he had promised during the election campaign to allocate a budget for a laboratory in the area. Gurung acknowledged that he had made the promise.
When asked why the budget had not been allocated as promised, Gurung said voters should not expect results within four months. He then told them to “take back their votes” if they were dissatisfied.
A video of the exchange has gone viral on social media. At the meeting, a participant wearing a cap asked Gurung about the laboratory budget. Reminding him of his election promise, he said Gurung had even called the ministry secretary from the area and promised to include funding for the laboratory in the upcoming budget.
Gurung responded that there were too many small budget demands and said they could not all be accommodated. He said the ministry had asked local authorities to submit a list of priorities so decisions could be made on what projects to include.
The participant then asked an official sitting beside Gurung whether the list had been sent. The official said it had been submitted.
Another person tried to explain that the issue had only recently been discussed with the ministry secretary.
Still unconvinced, the participant told Gurung that local residents were putting intense pressure on them. “People in the village are about to beat us up. You promised this yesterday, but now you are asking where it is,” he said.
Gurung then said the government had received its first budget only four months after taking office.
“You expect the work to be done, don’t you? I cannot transform everything in four months. Take back your votes,” Gurung said.
Participants could be seen laughing after the remark. One person responded, “You should have told us this before we elected you.”
Gurung then defended his position, saying he had been clear about his approach.
“I am a straightforward person. If you cannot trust me, don’t elect me. Give me five years and judge me,” he said.
Gurung added that only 15 to 20 days had passed since the government’s budget process began and questioned whether everything could be delivered immediately simply because people were demanding it.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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