KATHMANDU, July 18: CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun has accused Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of engaging in a systematic campaign of political retaliation.
Speaking at an event organized by the party’s Gorkha–Kathmandu Liaison Coordination Committee in the capital on Saturday, Pun claimed that the Prime Minister’s acts of political vendetta—initiated with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane—are set to culminate with Nepali Congress (NC) leader and current Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba.
Pun alleged that Prime Minister Oli has adopted a strategy of suppressing political opponents through legal cases, orchestrating party splits or forcing mergers into his own party. “Oli exhibits authoritarian, arbitrary and vindictive tendencies,” he remarked.
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“He jailed Rabi Lamichhane under cooperative fraud charges and caused a split in his party. He filed a case against Madhav Kumar Nepal in an attempt to absorb Unified Socialist into UML. Now, he is seeking to break Upendra Yadav’s party to merge one faction with his own,” Pun said.
Pun further alleged that the government is preparing to file a case against Dr Rana in an effort to intimidate the Nepali Congress (NC) leadership. “Mark my words—if the NC-led coalition begins to show even slight resistance, Oli will file a case against Arzu Rana under some pretext,” Pun said. “He is threatening NC leaders, saying it is now Arzu and her son’s turn.”
Pun also claimed that Prime Minister Oli is exerting pressure on NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba by implicating senior leaders Ramesh Lekhak in the visa scandal and Mohan Bahadur Basnet in the Teramox procurement controversy.
Pun went on to allege that Oli has been attempting to corner Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal for the past year. “When no evidence was found through the CIB, the anti-money laundering office or the CIAA, he tried to draw Prachanda [i.e. Dahal] into controversy via his former personal assistant Bikesh Shrestha,” said Pun. “But when Prachanda insisted on a thorough investigation of all cases—from Yeti and Omni to Giribandhu—Oli backed off.”
Criticizing the government’s performance over the past year, Pun claimed that it has been marred by corruption and irregularities. “Aside from promoting middlemen, the government has done little of substance. One minister recently resigned after being caught soliciting bribes, while an audio recording surfaced implicating another in a bribery deal,” he said.
