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The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) will start street protest across the country against the KP Sharma Oli government.

NC has announced the street protest accusing the federal and provincial governments of undermining the rule of law instead of moving ahead in accordance to the spirit of constitution.

“District committees have been instructed to organize protest programs at the district headquarters on July 31 against autocratic and anti-people activities, and instructed all units of the party to take the issue to the people to make them participate in the protest programs,” a press statement issued in the name of NC General Secretary Shashank Koirala reads.

The statement adds that the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) has blatantly violated the constitutional provision requiring the speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) from different parties.

The party has also accused the government of ‘illegally’ revoking the ‘legitimate’ appointments made by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government. “The anti-people decision of the government to revoke the decision of the then government to reduce the threshold for elderly allowance to 65 years from 70, and provide Rs 5,000 per month to people with kidney and heart diseases, cancer and spinal injuries must be opposed,” the press statement adds.

Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar has threatened to part ways with Nepali Congress (NC) if the agreement made at the time of unification with Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic) is not implemented.
Gachchhadar, who is also the deputy leader of NC parliamentary party, has threatened to convene a meeting of his cadres across the country and split the party if the leadership does not implement the agreement made at the time of unification.
Speaking at an interaction program held in Kathmandu on Monday, he accused the leadership of not handing out responsibilities to the cadres who joined NC from Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic). “I joined NC to save the country. But the party did not give appropriate responsibilities,” he fumed.
Gachchhadar had quit NC on February 1, 2008 and joined the then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum before the first Constituent Assembly election. He returned back to NC after unification on October 16, 2017.

Gandaki has been proposed as the name for Province 4.

Provincial assembly member Maya Nath Adhikari of Communist Part of Nepal (CPN) speaking during a meeting of the assembly on Thursday proposed the name for discussion.

Parliamentary party leader of Nepali Congress (NC) in the province Krishna Chandra Pokharel participating in the discussion stated that Gandaki is the name that depicts identity of all ethnicities. Stressing that Gandaki is the name for everybody, he pointed that NC has recommended the name right from the beginning.

Krishna Thapa of Rashtriya Janamorcha said it would be difficult to name the province after ethnicities. Pointing that there are just seven provinces and 105 ethnicities in Nepal, he added that nobody should demand any province to be named after an ethnicity. Hari Sharan Acharya of Naya Shakti Nepal, however, proposed that Tamuwan should also be included in the name along with Gandaki.

Sixteen provincial assembly members taking part in the discussion proposed Gandaki as the name. All the parties except Naya Shakti, that has two members in the 59-strong assembly, are in favor of Gandaki.

The assembly was scheduled to discuss the name of province since Tuesday but the assembly meeting could not be held for two days with differences within CPN on the name. Some in the party were in favor of Tamuwan Magrant while others supported Gandaki Tamuwan. But the party finally agreed on Gandaki.

A meeting of the Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party has decided to depute a group of lawmakers to inquire about the health condition of Dr Govinda KC, who is on a hunger strike in Jumla.

Dr KC is staging fast-onto-death since June 30 in Jumla putting forth demand of reform in health and education sectors.

Expressing solidarity with Dr KC’s demand, the NC decided to send members of House of Representatives—Prakash Snehi and Rangamati Shahi, and Province Assembly member Dinbandhu Shrestha to take stock of the health condition of Dr KC, said Party’s Chief Whip, Bal Krishna Khand.

The meeting held under the chairmanship NC Parliamentary Party leader and Party President Sher Bahadur Deuba demanded the government to prepare the Medical Bill based on past agreements signed by the government.

Similarly, the NC also decided to depute HoR members—Parbata DC Chaudhary, Amaresh Kumar Singh and Bed Timalsina to take stock of the health condition of Gangamaya Adhikari, who is on a hunger strike for the past one month.

Gangamaya is on the hunger strike for the past one month at Bir Hospital demanding action against those involved in the murder of her son, Krishna Prasad Adhikari. Krishna Prasad was murdered 13 years ago.

The NC drew the government’s attention towards deteriorating condition of Gangamaya. The meeting also demanded the government to scrap the decision of declaration of prohibited areas at different places of Kathmandu Valley as well as demanded to carry out market monitoring to control price hike.

General secretary Dr Shashanka Koirala, deputy leader of NC parliamentary party Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, former General Secretary Prakashman Singh, among others, were present on the occasion.

The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) will send three lawmakers to Jumla to express solidarity with the demands of fasting Dr Govinda KC.

Dr KC has been staging a fast-unto-death at the covered hall of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences in Jumla demanding that the Medical Education Ordinance brought by the preceding Sher Bahadur Deuba government be implemented as it is.

A meeting of the parliamentary party held at Singha Durbar Wednesday morning has decided to send federal lawmakers Prakash Rasaily and Rang Mati Shahi, and assembly member from Province 6 Dinbandhu Shrestha to Jumla, according to NC Chief Whip Balkrishna Khand. The party has also decided to lobby in the House of Representatives (HoR) for implementation of the ordinance.

The government has brought the medical education bill against the past agreements with Dr KC with an intention of providing affiliation for medical college to four hospitals owned by businessmen close to the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).

The party will also send three lawmakers to meet Ganga Maya Adhikari who is on a fast-unto-death at Bir Hospital since May 29 demanding murderers of her son be brought to book. NC lawmakers Parvati DC Chaudhary, Amresh Singh and Bed Prakash Timalsina will go to Bir Hospital to meet Adhikari.

The party has also decided to breach the restricted areas enforced by the government.

The main opposition party Nepali Congress argued that the budget would increase burden of tax and loan on the people.

A meeting of Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party held Wednesday discussed the budget presented by the government on Tuesday and drew the conclusion that investment would not increase in production sector due to the increment of tax and loan burden.

Briefing about the decisions of the meeting, NC Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khand said that the budget has failed to motivate national and international investors.

He said that the budget has not been successful to encourage the private sector, saying the investment in the agriculture and productive sectors was insufficient as per the government’s commitment of cent per cent growth in agro and production sectors within five years.

Saying the government has failed to bring the essential programs related to tourism sector, the NC argued that the budget was against the hope of economic prosperity.

The NC also cast doubt that the arrangement made by the budget regarding private land shown that the government has been encouraged towards controlled economy.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has said the NC would stand firm against any attempts of anarchy and totalitarianism in the country.

In his address to the 27th anniversary celebrations of the Nepal Press Union (NPU) here Sunday, the former Prime Minister said, “(free) press is synonym of democracy and the party will strongly oppose if any attempts are made to keep it in a state of fear.”

“Some win and some lose in the elections and it is the norm too,” he said, adding that the party would move towards direction of party strengthening and reconstruction by assimilating its role as a constructive opposition force in the parliament.

Also speaking on the occasion, party senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel made it clear that the party would hit the street if any attempt was made against free press. Stating that the party would always stand in favor of democracy, inclusiveness, federalism and enforcement of the constitution, he urged NPU to confidently face any challenge against press freedom.

NC Vice President Bimalendra Nidhi, recalling the history about the formation of the NPU some 27 years ago with the participation of 17 journalists, said the same organization has become of an umbrella body of all democratic journalists.

Accusing the government of devoting self to pleasing the neighors by sidelining the issues of federalism, inclusion and constitution enforcement, he claimed that ‘cheap popularity’ was the characteristic of the present government.

NC General Secretary Dr Shashanka Koirala said unity in party was his only concern of the hour.

Former Minister Dr Minendra Rijal, Vice Chair of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Bipul Pokhrel, Nepal Trade Union Congress Chair Khilanath Dahal, senior journalists Harihar Birahi, Taranath Dahal, Deepak Acharya, NPU General Secretary Ajay Babu Siwakoti, Press Center Nepal’s Chair Maheshwor Dahal and Press Chautari Nepal’s chair Ganesh Basent extended their best wishes on the occasion.

The NPU is an organization of democratic media persons close to the Nepali Congress. It was established on May 27, 1991. JP Gupta is its founding chair.

Hari Adhikari, Ramesh Tufan, Rajesh Dhungana, Shirishballav Pradhan, Shobhakar Parajuli, Jagdish Ghimire, Kanhaiyalal Keshari, Rajeshwor Nepal, Ganesh Prasad Nepal, Taranath Dahal, Harihar Prasad Shrestha, Krishna Kandel, Yogesh Upadhyay, Yadav Thapaliya, Ramchandra Upreti and Ganesh Ballav were the founding members.

Presently the Union with its branches nationwide has 13,000 members.