Mayor Balen Shah Sparks Controversy With CPN-UML Allegations
Yet again a political tiresome has emerged in Nepal that has become viral like mad rushing through the Nepali tweeter trend by engaging Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Balen Shah and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist )or CPN-UML. The scandal has attracted lots of debates on the social networking sites and has exposed that the social media plays a significant role in Nepalese politics.
The conflict started when Mayor Balen Shah shared a picture of CPN-UML’s provincial legislator Rekha Sharma on social media Joseph claiming she had abused a minor for eight years. In his post on Twitter, Shah stated that she is CPN-UML provincial MP Rekha Sharma. The poor girl has been confined in this house for the last eight years and has been sexually attacking a minor girl, calling her a domestic worker. She said she beats her on a daily basis.
Shah has directed not only the CPN-UML legislator but also the Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, who is a member of CPN-UML. The mayor wrote, “Dear Honourable Prime Minister of Nepal Khadga Prasad Oli Jyu. Bombers, good governance means obeying a court order, which includes arresting your MP; I’m sure you are aware of the notorious Rekha Sharma, a staunch child abuser.
This post came in when the CPN-UML Kathmandu District Committee had presented a 7 point demand letter to the Mayor, Shah. The mayor’s only response has been to post some remarks on social media and his comment is perceived as a direct affront on the opposition party and its leadership.
The controversy has gone viral on social media as Shah has posted some related posts got hundreds of thousands of interactions within hours. More than 103K members clicked ‘like’ on one post, 16,200 left comments and 8,800 shared the post, a clear signal that the public is interested in this problem.
A large number has extended their support in favour of Mayor Shah and also condemned the CPN-UML the most on the allegations levied against Rekha Sharma. On social media most comments have been negative regarding the CPN-UML, wherein users have posted displeasure over the behaviors of the party leader as alleged.
This is not the first time that Mayor Shah has taken on the CPN-UML and Prime Minister Oli by using social media. In June, he leveled corruption charges that accused Oli of being involved in a Rs 100 billion scam over the Giri Bandhu Tea Estate land swap. That post too received much attention causing lots of dialogue and heated argues on the social media platforms.
As you are aware, the current controversy has given a new dimension & brought out debates raging on several matters namely child abuse, political responsibility, social media and its influence over the masses along with the politics of Nepal. It has also pointed to increased use of social media to engage in direct communication with the public and to challenge opponents in the political theater.
The social media engagement by political leaders such as Mayor Shah is a new way of doing political communication and participation in Nepal. It provides the opportunity to reach the target audience quicker and more closely without interference from mass media. However, its credibility is still questionable with regard to the following questions: how accurate is the information presented on these platforms? and what are the implications of falsehood proliferating himself?
The current situation has turned into one of great public interest in the country, and Nepalis are actively discussing the case on the Web. Many more discussions have been raised in connection with the event in question, these include discussion on political accountability, protection of minors, and most importantly the need to enhance the governance of the nations.
The major political parties, including the CPN-UML and the government, have not responded directly on SHAH’s allegations, although the debate has almost certainly provided them with pressure to respond and consider the points made. The incident also brings to light the strategic issues of managing public image of the political parties as the influenced by the trending social media that customs and comments on such events within few moments.
Nepal is still very much in a political transition, and thus, social media is only going to play a bigger part in Nepalese politics in the years to come. This event can well be regarded as an example of how digital media are steadily gaining more weightage, as far as the creation of political discourse and citizens’ involvement in the process is concerned in the given country.
The recent exchange of verbal blows on twitter between the newly elected mayor of Kathmandu and the CPN-UML shows how reality of political communication in Nepal has shifted and how social media is slowly becoming a tool to mobilize public opinion and political responsibility. In the course of this dynamic process, it will be necessary to track the processes relating to the transformation of political parties and leaders into the digital political plane as well as political coverage to see if it has an impact on the governance and politics of Nepal.