KATHMANDU, Sept. 13: The Rastriya Swatantra Party-led government, which commands an overwhelming mandate of 182 seats in the House of Representatives, has begun facing political pressure from several directions only months after taking office.
RSP lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh has warned of a possible public movement against the government, while an incident in Madhes in which government spokesperson and Education Minister Sasmita Pokharel had to leave an interaction programme has intensified debate over growing public dissatisfaction.
A day earlier, Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” had warned in Janakpur that the people of Madhes would soon take to the streets against the government. He accused the government of insulting and removing ministers from Madhes.
CPN UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has also questioned some of the government’s decisions and working style from the outset. More recently, he said his party was ready to cooperate with the government but alleged that the government itself had failed to create an environment for cooperation.
Dissatisfaction is also emerging from Gen Z activists and families whose movement helped create the political conditions for the RSP-led government.
This means criticism is no longer confined to opposition parties. Questions are being raised by lawmakers within the ruling party, Gen Z activists, families of those killed in the movement and citizens from different sections of society.
Ruling party lawmaker warns of a public backlash
RSP lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh had earlier warned that public frustration with the government was growing. He said the government could face a situation in which people would “chase it out” after Chhath.
Soon after that warning, the incident involving Education Minister Pokharel in Madhes raised questions about whether public dissatisfaction could surface before Chhath.
Pokharel, though, said no one had driven him out of the programme. He explained that the behaviour of two individuals had affected the participation of students, teachers and parents, prompting him to leave the venue.
He also claimed that a video clip of less than a minute had been edited and presented without the full context. While people have the democratic right to express disagreement, he said opinions should not be formed solely on the basis of a short video.
His explanation, however, has not ended the political and public debate over the incident.
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Prachanda says Madhes will soon demand answers
Nepali Communist Party coordinator Prachanda has accused the RSP-led government of launching its first attack on Madhes and the Madhesi people.
Speaking to journalists in Janakpur on Friday, Prachanda said Madhesi voters had supported the RSP with hope, but Madhes was now suffering the most.
He accused the government of acting against the poor, workers and farmers and criticised its policy requiring people to pay taxes when bringing goods across the border from India.
Prachanda also claimed that a statement by Prime Minister Balendra Shah had insulted Madhesi people. He said voters had supported the RSP with the hope that “a son of Madhes” would one day become prime minister, but that expectation had instead turned into what he described as an attack on Madhes.
He accused the government of adopting an anti-Madhes approach in its budget and appointments. As time passes, he said, people in Madhes will realise that they voted for the wrong political force.
Claiming that ministers from Madhes had been removed after being insulted, Prachanda warned that the people of Madhes would soon demand an account from the government and take to the streets.
Oli questions govt’s willingness to cooperate
CPN UML Chairman Oli has also said his party is prepared to work with the government but claimed the government has not created the conditions for cooperation.
Speaking on Saturday while bidding farewell to an UML team heading to flood affected areas of Nuwakot and Rasuwa for relief and rescue work, Oli urged the government to stop the misuse of state power.
He called on the Nepal Army and Nepal Police to operate within the limits of law, rules and their duties. He also said they should refuse to carry out unnecessary or improper orders.
“Work that causes further hardship to victims should not be done,” Oli said, urging those in government to stop what he described as the misuse of state power.
Although he said the government had not created an environment for cooperation, Oli maintained that the UML would not step back from its responsibilities during disasters.
CK Raut declares govt a failure
Janamat Party Chairman CK Raut has gone further, declaring the RSP-led government a “complete failure.”
Speaking at a Madhes provincial-level party gathering in Janakpur on Saturday, Raut claimed the government had failed on every front.
He said the government’s claim that it would bring Nepalis back from abroad should be questioned against the fact that around 300,000 Nepalis had left the country during the past four months.
Raut also criticised the suspension of health insurance services, restrictions on bringing even a dozen bananas through border points and the arrest of people for criticising the government’s activities on social media.
At the same event, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav acknowledged that Madhes-based parties and leaders had made mistakes in the past and said they would now unite for a street movement. He announced that his party would resume protests after Chhath.
Gen Z anger raises a deeper question
Perhaps the most serious questions facing the government are coming from the Gen Z movement that helped create the political conditions for its formation.
Young people who took to the streets, some of whom were killed, injured or permanently disabled, are increasingly complaining that the government has failed to meet the expectations that drove the movement.
Rachana Khatibada, the mother of Gen Z movement victim Rasik Khatibada and an RSP lawmaker, has herself expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s performance.
When activists and families of those killed in the movement that helped create the government begin questioning it, the political message is different from ordinary opposition criticism.
Their question is not simply about replacing one government with another. It is about the growing gap between the goals of the movement and the government that emerged from its political aftermath.
Listen to grievances, do not dismiss them
The government’s likely response is that many of the protests and criticisms are tactics by opposition parties seeking to destabilise it.
But treating every expression of dissatisfaction as an opposition conspiracy carries its own risk. It can prevent the government from recognising genuine weaknesses.
When concerns over disrupted maternity services were raised in Parliament, ruling party lawmakers also portrayed them as opposition tactics. For citizens, though, the real question is simple: can they access services at hospitals?
The same applies to LPG shortages, rescue and relief for flood victims, rehabilitation, supplies of essential goods and the effectiveness of public services. These issues directly shape the public’s relationship with the government.
If citizens cannot feel the presence of the state during a disaster, the government cannot escape responsibility by blaming the opposition.
A big majority is power, not arrogance
The RSP has 182 lawmakers. This is not an ordinary majority but an extraordinary mandate, reflecting public frustration with established political forces and hope for a new political alternative.
A large mandate, though, also creates large expectations. The government can point to its achievements and seek public support. But citizens do not judge a government only by its manifesto, speeches or popularity on social media. They judge it by whether they can get LPG, receive treatment at hospitals, obtain timely rescue during disasters, receive relief, find better economic opportunities and raise questions with the state without facing intimidation or arrest.
The incident involving the education minister in Madhes does not by itself prove that the government has lost public support. Pokharel’s explanation also deserves consideration.
But when viewed alongside warnings from ruling party lawmakers, anger from opposition parties, dissatisfaction among Gen Z activists, questions from families of victims and complaints over everyday public services, it should be treated as a serious warning.
The government now needs to distinguish genuine public grievances from political manoeuvring instead of dismissing every criticism as an opposition plot.
The 182-seat mandate gives the government the authority to govern for five years. It does not free the government from questions from the people.
Its real challenge is not defeating the opposition. It is protecting the trust of the people who gave it that mandate. The opportunity is still there, but it will require results rather than speeches and answers rather than arguments.
