The outgoing ministers stationed at Bhairavnath Gana in Maharajgunj were also asked to switch off their mobile phones from the morning of 25th Bhadra.
What you should know
UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the army had 'seized' (confiscated) his phone while he was the Prime Minister of the caretaker government.
The army rescued Oli by helicopter on the afternoon of Bhadra 24 after the protesters moved towards the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar. Oli says that he was kept away from communication for three days after he went under the army's protection.
The government had carried out a widespread crackdown on the Gen-G movement on Bhadra 23, and the protests turned violent on Bhadra 24. Oli resigned as Prime Minister at around 2 pm after protesters vandalized, looted and set fire to government and private structures across the country. Oli's resignation letter was sent to the President's Office through an army officer. Immediately after that, the army took him by helicopter to the Suparitar Barracks in Makwanpur.
Speaking to media persons in Kathmandu on Sunday, Oli said that his mobile phone was 'sieged' for three days from the time he went under the army's protection until Sushila Karki took the oath as Prime Minister. 'After I resigned, I remained under the army's protection. Whatever you may call it, I was under the protection of the army. My mobile was seized before the swearing-in of the Prime Minister (Karki), so I was not in touch until the evening of the 27th,’ Oli said.
Karki took the oath at 9:30 pm on the 27th of Bhadra. Other members of the Oli-led cabinet also said that their mobile phones were ‘seized’. UP Lamichhane, who is also the personal secretary of the Oli government, said that the army did not allow Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh to use his mobile phone until a new prime minister was appointed. According to him, Singh had not been able to use his mobile phone since 25th of Bhadra. Singh had contacted his family members through landline phones.
The outgoing ministers who were kept at the Bhairavnath camp in Maharajgunj were also asked to switch off their mobile phones from the morning of 25 Bhadra. Oli cabinet members Ramesh Lekhak, Raghuji Pant, Sharat Singh Bhandari, Tejulal Chaudhary, Ain Bahadur Shahi, Pradeep Yadav and Minister of State Kham Bahadur Garbuja were kept there. “The army’s argument was that the protesters come by tracing their location through mobile phones, which is why there is insecurity,” Yadav said.
According to another minister, the mobile phone that was taken away for not being used was returned only after Karki was sworn in as the Prime Minister. Sudurpaschim Province Chief Nazir Mian was also kept at Bhairavnath. He was also banned from using his mobile phone.
Pradeep Poudel, who was the Health Minister in the Oli government, stayed at the army’s Rajdal camp in Lalitpur for two days. ‘The army did not rescue me by helicopter from the ministerial quarters and take me away,’ he said. ‘On the morning of 24 Bhadra, I was going to Baluwatar to submit my resignation to the Prime Minister, but I could not reach there because the road was blocked. After that, I stayed with a relative, and later went to the Rajdal battalion.’ Poudel said that he was not banned from using a mobile phone.
The then Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal had gone to the Philippines to participate in a program of the Asian Development Bank. Before he returned to Nepal, the Oli government had collapsed and a new government had been formed under the leadership of Karki.
Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, however, does not carry a mobile phone. Phone contact is made through his personal secretary Bhanu Deuba. On 24 Bhadra, protesters physically attacked the Deuba couple. Bhanu claims that the mobile phone carried by Deuba’s wife Arju Rana was lost at her residence in Budhanilkantha when the protesters attacked. They were rescued injured and admitted to the hospital at the army camp. ‘I was not with them at that time, I was outside,’ Bhanu said.
After the protesters reached the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut and the judges were taken to the army barracks in Singha Durbar. On Bhadra 24, four judges including Justices Meghraj Pokharel and Shrikant Poudel were on leave. The others present in the court were taken by the army for security reasons. Four of the judges who had reached there went home on the night of Bhadra 24, while Chief Justice Raut went to his residence in Baluwatar on Bhadra 25. He also reached the Supreme Court on the same day. Even while under army protection, the Chief Justice and the judges were not prohibited from using mobile phones.
After the President's residence and office Sheetal Niwas were burned, President Ram Chandra Poudel was taken to the VIP Security Directorate in Narayanhiti. His mobile phone was with him. According to the President's Secretariat, President Poudel had been active since Bhadra 24 to find a political solution by resolving the situation created by the Gen-G movement. 'The President had been repeatedly discussing with the protesters and political party leaders for a political solution. He had spoken to the top leaders of political parties, there was no obstruction,” said an official from the secretariat.
The soldiers deployed for security at Narayanhiti had provided security to Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, National Assembly Speaker Narayan Prasad Dahal, and the then Deputy Prime Minister and Urban Development Minister Prakash Man Singh. The army, who had been kept in the Narayanhiti directorate, had asked them not to use their mobile phones the next day as well.
They were asked to use landlines to contact family members or others. “We were asked to turn off our mobile phones saying that it would be a security risk, but they connected the landlines. After that, I wrote down the mobile phone numbers of 20-25 people on paper,” National Assembly Speaker Dahal had told media persons earlier. He said that the army did not take away mobile phones.
Speaker Devraj Ghimire also went to the police headquarters in Naxal on 24 Bhadra. But he returned to his residence in Baluwatar at 12 midnight. The next day, he went to the police headquarters again at 5 am. He returned to his residence that evening. He was absent from the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Karki on 27 Bhadra. ‘I did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister due to the lack of security arrangements,’ said Speaker Ghimire.
The then Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Poudel, on the other hand, had reached the Police Headquarters via the Speaker’s residence from the Prime Minister’s residence on 24 Bhadra. He had gone to the Police Headquarters with National Assembly Speaker Dahal and reached his relative’s house in the evening, informed his personal secretary Yam Pandey. Pandey said that Poudel did not go under the protection of the army and used his mobile phone.
Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari was rescued by the army and taken to the Shivpuri barracks. She was not banned from using her mobile phone. Bhandari’s personal secretary Rajkumar Rai said, ‘She does not usually use her mobile phone. However, she was not banned from using her mobile phone while she was under the protection of the army.’
Maoist Chairman and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was at the parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar, had entered the army barracks after the protesters moved towards Singha Durbar. Unified Socialist Party Chairman and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, former minister and Maoist leader Barshaman Pun also reached the barracks.
On 25 and 26 Bhadra, the mobile phones of Dahal and other leaders were turned off. Army officials had asked them to turn off their mobile phones, saying that there could be a 'location trace'. According to Maoist Chairman Dahal's secretariat, the facility to use landline phones was provided at that time. On 26 Bhadra, Dahal went to the President's Office, Sheetal Niwas, to discuss the formation of a new government.
Unified Socialist Party Chairman Nepal, on the other hand, left the army barracks in Singha Durbar early on the morning of 25 Bhadra. He had gone to his relatives' house because his house was burned down. Even after the Gen-G movement, he was in constant contact with his leaders. 'He was in regular contact and a statement was also issued on behalf of the party,' said a leader of the Unified Socialist Party. Nepal also reached Sheetal Niwas on 26 Bhadra after the President called him to discuss the formation of a new government.
Nepali Army officials have said that political activities taking place at a sensitive time are being exposed and the path to a solution has been lost. A high-ranking army officer said, ‘Negotiations were underway to form a civilian government as per Gen-G’s proposal. Top party leaders were also participating in the talks on that issue. But when they shared all the issues outside, the path to consensus began to break down, and they were asked to cooperate after information that should have been kept confidential was leaked.’
According to the officer, after discussions with Gen-G at the military base, it was decided to form a government under the leadership of former Chief Justice Karki and the same proposal was conveyed to the President. ‘But there was a suggestion that political parties should also be consulted to maintain stability and peace and security, and the President also wanted that,’ he said, ‘Even after the process was agreed upon and the process moved forward, it was difficult to reach a conclusion. We had requested them to keep their mobile phones out of the way as it would have been difficult to make a decision if they had them with them.’
Nepali Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet expressed his ignorance about Oli’s statement and the seizure of his mobile phone. ‘The Nepali Army has fulfilled its responsibility by providing security to them in accordance with the security procedures for distinguished persons at the time,’ he said.
