KATHMANDU, July 15: Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Gita Gurung has accused the government of diverting attention from serious concerns raised by citizens and lawmakers by resorting to “cheap stunts” and publicity tactics.
Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Gurung said the government had continued its old practice of shifting public attention whenever major national issues are raised.
Box Office: 'Top Gun: Maverick' Debuts to Stratospheric $124 Mi...
“Whenever questions were raised over ministers’ assets, bulldozers were sent to squatters’ settlements. When then-secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar was arrested, the prime minister and ministers turned it into a spectacle on social media. Meanwhile, the settlement where squatters were relocated in Kirtipur was inundated, leaving people in distress,” she said.
Gurung said the government had failed to show sensitivity despite three serious cases of self-immolation in the country.
“Even after such a horrific incident as self-immolation, instead of addressing the issue, the government has brought up another stunt involving vehicles parked near media houses and the residence of NC President Gagan Kumar Thapa,” she said.
She argued that these incidents demonstrate the government’s tendency to divert attention from real problems.
Gurung said such tactics used to distract the public whenever serious issues emerge are nothing new. She urged civil society, the media and the general public not to be misled by what she described as the government’s “cheap stunts and propaganda.”
