Nepal PM lying about Maleth incident: RJP-N

The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP-N) claimed that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lied about not being present during the police firing that took place in Maleth in March last year.

Speaking to ANI, RJP-N General Secretary Keshav Jha praised Prime Minister Oli's address in Provincial Assembly of Province no. 2 on Saturday, but claimed that it was marred by false statements.

"During the CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxists Leninist) government's program, KP Oli was present and addressed the cadres when shots were fired. But he falsified the incident claiming he had finished the program and reached the highway when the firing began. He blamed the government, which was completely false as the shots were fired while he was present there. The then government should take responsibility."

Jha further questioned the reliability of the state head and claimed that Oli's denial of being present at the time of firing had saddened the party.

"If a Prime Minister can lie then whom can we trust in such a country? This was a great blunder which he made during the address and this has saddened us. He should not have given this sort of false statements," he said.

Summarising the performance of the incumbent government in the last six months, Jha said, "From every angle, we have seen the government be helpless; it only has the arrogance of securing a two-thirds majority. The main thing is that development is not possible without political stability."

In March last year, five people were allegedly killed after police opened fire amid clashes in Maleth of Saptari district.

The National Human Rights Commission's investigation into the event concluded that the condition worsened because of the mass meeting despite being aware of the circumstance.

Oli, while addressing the Provincial Assembly of Province No. 2 on Saturday, claimed that he was not present at the time of firing.