Vents ire against the directives given by parliamentary panel

People wearing masks to show govt is a failure: PM

KATHMANDU, July 6: Although a parliamentary panel earlier directed the government not to host the International India Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Nepal, Prime Minister KP Oli has expressed commitment to host the event at an appropriate time.

Speaking at a function organized at the headquarters of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) at Dhumbarahi on Friday, Prime Minister Oli also expressed strong dissatisfaction over the directive given by the parliamentary committee on international relations not to host the event in Nepal. He said that the parliamentary directive was issued based on “rumors” and won't be acceptable to the government.

Prime Minister Oli said the government had decided to host the event as it will be helpful in making the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign successful. “The government is ready to host the event at an appropriate time if that is deemed good and beneficial for the country. The event won't be hosted in the way that harms the interests of the country,” he said.

Stating that the issue of hosting the IIFA Awards is still under consideration, Prime Minister Oli vented his ire against the parliamentary committee for issuing such directives. He called the directive of the parliamentary panel “unauthorized”.

Fresh doubts had emerged over hosting the IIFA event in Nepal after the parliamentary panel issued such directive on Tuesday. The parliamentary committee said that the event poses 'threat to Nepal's sovereignty, independence and prestige'.

The three-day event got caught up in a political storm following reports that Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the private sector would be spending a total of Rs 1 billion on it. Other necessary arrangements including security and vehicles were expected to incur additional financial burden on the state coffers.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Oli alleged that a section of people in Kathmandu have started wearing mask to show that the government is a failure.

Prime Minister Oli clarified that he had a few days ago said that people no longer need to wear face masks as there is no dust in the capital's streets.

“Some people in Kathmandu have started wearing masks after that remark to show that the government is a failure. It is always good to wear face masks even if it is in protest against me. But the government will continue to clean the roads,” the prime minister said.

While indicating that the protests were staged by the main opposition party cadres, Prime Minister Oli said that the opposition party had every right to protest against the government in a democratic system. He said anti-development forces have become active in recent days.

 
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