Butwal, Oct 23: Local protests against the appointment of Ani Choying Dolma as vice chairperson of the Lumbini Development Trust continue.
A protest has been scheduled for 1 pm today at Parsachowk in Lumbini, said Akram Khan, coordinator of the Lumbini Bachau Maha Abhiyan, a campaign to protect Lumbini. He said the campaign would continue its protests in phases until the appointment is revoked.
Various organisations have called for the cancellation of Dolma’s appointment, raising questions about the validity of her citizenship and the legitimacy of her assets.
The Lumbini Bachau Maha Abhiyan was the first to announce protests against her appointment. The Kapilvastu Tilaurakot Struggle Committee later joined the opposition, urging the government to reconsider its decision.
Rajkumar Yadav of the struggle committee said the appointment had hurt the sentiments, aspirations and self respect of local residents across the Greater Lumbini region.
The committee also raised concerns over a financial investigation involving Dolma. It said Nepal Rastra Bank and the Department of Money Laundering Investigation had frozen her bank account and launched an investigation after US$1,649,940, equivalent to around Rs 183.1 million, was reportedly transferred into her account from Hong Kong in 2019 without a disclosed source.
The committee said any attempt to influence the investigation through political power or pressure would raise serious concerns about financial governance.
It also cited Dolma’s autobiography, Phoolko Aankhama (Through the Eyes of a Flower), in which she reportedly acknowledges that her parents came to Nepal as Tibetan refugees. The committee said questions had also been raised over allegations that she obtained citizenship by descent using forged details and identifying a fictitious person as her father.
“Appointing a controversial individual who had not even applied for the position to lead a sensitive institution associated with the faith of Buddhists worldwide and Nepal’s international religious identity, while disregarding transparency, good governance and the institution’s reputation, is regrettable,” Yadav said.
Former minister Chandra Kesh Gupta, a resident of Lumbini, also said Dolma’s citizenship and the transfer of a large sum of money from abroad into her account without a clear explanation had made her a controversial figure. He said local residents would not accept her appointment.
Gupta warned that if the government did not revoke the appointment, residents would prevent Dolma from staying in Lumbini and intensify their protests.
Senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi, also a Lumbini resident, said the appointment was improper from the perspectives of good governance, public ethics and the law.
Questioning how Dolma could hold citizenship by descent if, as she has reportedly acknowledged, both her parents were foreign nationals, Tripathi said questions had been raised about her nationality. He argued that appointing her before resolving those questions was wrong.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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