Lucknow, Sep 10 (PTI) Yashwant Shah, grandson of former Nepal prime minister K I Singh, on Wednesday accused the Nepal government of mishandling recent protests in the country, saying the demonstrations
were peaceful and enjoyed wide public support.
Speaking to PTI Videos in Lucknow, Shah said the protest in Kathmandu on September 8 was called by a student body and was joined by a large number of demonstrators.
"The protest was against corruption. There have been several scams going on for a long time and people felt something must be done to stop them," he said.
According to Shah, the demonstration initially drew strong backing from the younger Gen Z population, which was later supported by Gen X as well as the general public.
"Seeing such large-scale support, the government got nervous and feared it would reflect badly on them, especially as it was being widely shared on social media," he said.
He alleged that authorities' use of force led to clashes.
"The firing by police was wrong. In any democracy, firing should not happen. At most, water cannons or rubber bullets can be used to disperse crowds. Even if firing is unavoidable, it should be below the waist. But what happened was a clear violation," Shah said.
He claimed that a school student was hit by a bullet outside the Nepal Parliament, which fuelled widespread public anger.
"If you look at the videos, you will see ordinary citizens raising their voices against corruption. In a democracy, peaceful protest is not a crime," Shah said.
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli quit on Tuesday shortly after hundreds of agitators entered his office demanding his resignation for the death of at least 19 people in police action during Monday's protests over corruption and a social media ban.
The ban on social media was lifted Monday night.
However, the demonstrations continued even after his resignation.
Protesters set fire to the Parliament, the President's Office, the PM's residence, government buildings, political parties' offices and homes of senior leaders. PTI KIS VN
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