Nepali Congress seeks PM Oli's resignation for tabling "wrong" bills in Parliament

Nepal's main opposition party Nepali Congress Friday sought Prime Minister K P Oli's resignation on moral ground, saying he should take responsibility for tabling "wrong" bills, including the controversial Guthi Bill, in Parliament.

The K P Sharma Oli-led Communist Party government tabled the Guthi Bill in Parliament last week to amend the Guthi Act and nationalise both public and private guthis or trusts and regulate all religious sites under a powerful commission.

Fearing that the government's move could jeopardise Sanatan Hindu tradition, the ethnic Newar community staged week-long protests demanding scrapping of the bill.

Following intense protests, the Nepal government Tuesday withdrew the controversial bill from Parliament, but the protestors are demanding scrapping of the bill.

Thousands of protestors - including Guthiyars or trustees, cultural experts, social activists, civil society leaders and people from Newar communities - participated in the rally organised at Maitighar Mandala near the Prime Minister's Office in the heart of Kathmandu.

Two Newar activists were arrested from Kathmandu on Wednesday as they showed black flags to Prime Minister Oli, police said.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior leader of the Nepali Congress Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar said Oli should resign on moral ground as his government withdrew the controversial Guthi Bill following intense protests.

Prime Minister Oli should take responsibility for tabling "wrong" bills in Parliament and should be ready to quit owing to the protests, he said.

"The government should have carried out sufficient preparations before registering the bill in Parliament," Gachhadar said while addressing a House of Representatives meeting in Kathmandu on Friday.

"Withdrawing a bill is not a brave act," he added.

The system, known as "guthi", is rooted within the Newar community indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley.

It has a special role in maintaining temples and traditional public spaces and organising festivals and religious parades.

Nepal has over 2,000 public guthis under an independent umbrella body which currently oversees the trusts.

Guthis, usually led by families or specific communities, generate income from commonly owned lands.

Gachhadar also protested the Media Council Bill and National Human Rights Commission Bill being tabled in Parliament which aim to curtail press freedom and limits human rights.

The current government came to power after a resounding victory in the 2017 elections, winning a strong majority in both houses of Parliament and six of the seven provincial assemblies.