Why is Oli Angry with Home Minister Shrestha?

In a recent turn of events, the political landscape in Nepal has been thrown into turmoil as former Prime Minister and UML Chairperson, KP Oli, expressed his anger towards Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha over an ongoing gold smuggling investigation. The matter came to light after the seizure of nearly one quintal of smuggled gold brought from Hong Kong to Kathmandu via a Cathay Pacific flight.

On Monday, Oli, like other ordinary party cadres, confronted the Home Minister about his potential involvement in the gold smuggling case, demanding answers and accountability. Upon his return to Nepal from Cambodia, Oli verbally attacked the Home Minister at the Tribhuvan International Airport, questioning whether he played any role in the illicit movement of the gold through customs.

“The Home Minister should tell whether he is involved in the case of a quintal of gold being passed through customs or not. If not, who is involved? We need answers,” said Oli firmly, emphasizing the need for transparency and justice in the investigation.

In response, Home Minister Shrestha had earlier promised not to show any leniency towards the guilty parties, regardless of their social status or political affiliations. He expressed his commitment to uphold the rule of law and ensure that justice is served in the gold smuggling case.

The UML MPs are also expected to demand clarification on Home Minister Shrestha’s role in the House of Representatives meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Beginning of a growing rift between Oli and Shrestha

After no party got a majority in the last general election, the UML-Maoist alliance was formed and the Chairman of the Maoist Center, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, became the Prime Minister on 25th Dec 2022.

Crucially, it was Narayan Kaji Shrestha, alongside leader Barshaman Pun, who played a pivotal role in convincing Prachanda to break ties with Congress and collaborate with UML.

During these negotiations, sources indicate that an agreement was made to appoint Shrestha as the Home Minister in the ensuing coalition government with UML. However, Oli’s assertiveness and his preferences led to the appointment of Rabi Lamichhane as the Home Minister instead, while Shrestha assumed the position of Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. This marked the beginning of a growing rift between Oli and Shrestha.

Eventually, the alliance of 25th Dec with UML, which was made with Shrestha’s efforts, did not last. Instead, after the equation changed in the presidential election, the UML left the government. After forming a seven-party alliance with the Congress, Shrestha said to those close to him – ‘Oli never improves, no matter how hard you try to remind him, he never listen to others and won’t understand any thing!’

Shrestha became the home minister after the UML and the RPP also left the government. The situation escalated further as under his tenure, major corruption investigations were initiated, targeting high-profile cases such as the fake Bhutanese refugees scam, Pashupati Jalhari investigation, Lalita Niwas land scam, and a case involving 100 kg of smuggled gold.

These investigations have already yielded significant results, with prominent figures like UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Deputy Prime Minister Balkrishna Khand, and the current Secretary of the Government of Nepal among those arrested in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugees case. Additionally, businessman Min Bahadur Gurung and over a dozen others have been arrested in the Lalita Niwas case.

Oli was not pleased with the issuance of an arrest warrant against leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who was also the UML secretary, in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees. Although he later said that he would help in the investigation of the Bhutanese refugee case, Oli at the initial stage came to the defense of Rayamajhi, who is also an MP of his party. After the court issued an arrest warrant, the police searched for Rayamajhi, but he suddenly disappeared.

At that time, Oli had said – ‘An MP, a person who has become a minister many times, a person who has become a deputy prime minister, to be caught while walking on the road in a conspiratorial manner is ‘mysterious’. Oli expressed his anger at the government and the home minister and said, ‘The current sitting MP is not going to run away.’

In the early July, after the UML blocked the House due to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s statement, Oli targeted Home Minister Shrestha along with the entire government. Similarly, regarding the comments made by Shrestha on social media regarding the bill related to loan shark victims , UML had taken a stand that the Home Minister should apologize and not allow the stalled Parliament to proceed.