OPINION | Politics behind social media ban that triggered massive protests in Nepal

Of late, Oli had been facing criticism for not adhering to the constitutional requirement of seeking a vote of confidence within 30 days of a coalition partner withdrawing support. Not doing so relegates the status of the government to that of a caretaker government. Oli and his party colleagues in the government had been giving wishy-washy explanations for not seeking a trust vote and acting as if everything was hunky-dory, leading to widespread criticism on social media.

Not just from outside, Oli has also been under pressure from within the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), which he leads. Former president Bidya Devi Bhandari, who was in the party before she became the president, is itching to return to the party and dethrone Oli as chairman (Nepal’s constitution does not bar constitutional post holders to return to the party fold after completing their tenure). She has considerable clout in the party, but Oli has been against renewing her party membership.

In fact, not only did Oli successfully stall her re-entry in the party through a central committee decision, he was also able to amend the party statute removing the 70-year age bar, as well as two-term cap, paving the way for himself to be re-elected as party chairman for the third time though he is 74.

Such manoeuvrings on his part have further alienated him from the Gen Z, who are fed up with the same three old men – Oli of the UML, Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN (Maoist Centre) – taking turns to become prime ministers.

Using nationalism to mask governance failures

Oli, who has a history of not taking criticism positively and stifling dissent, had resorted to ultra-nationalism by including disputed territory of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani in Nepal’s map and getting the same approved by the Parliament. He is trying to rouse nationalistic fervour yet again by claiming that Facebook had “insulted Nepal’s constitution” and deserved to be banned.

However, this argument has cut no ice with the Gen Z and youngsters turned up in large numbers for the September 8 protest.  Though the Supreme Court had directed the government to frame laws for regulating the social media, the government went ahead with the ban without drafting relevant laws. Now the situation is such that even the Nepali Congress, the largest coalition partner, is mulling over withdrawing support to the government on the issue of social media ban after the Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who is from the NC, resigned.

Nepal’s Gen Z is following a pattern that’s now global

Nepal is not the first country where Gen Z has taken to the streets. As per the Global Protest Tracker, active protests are on in 33 countries and Gen Z is somehow associated with them. Their agendas are similar – political and economic reforms, justice and equality, and firm opposition to corruption.

In Nepal, they are demanding an end to corruption, ensuring good governance, and reforming the working style of top leaders. They are venting their anger against the increased politicisation of state institutions, the restrictions on freedom of expression imposed by the closure of social media, and political favouritism.

Oli is slated to meet Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, on September 17. After what transpired on Monday and given the clamour for his resignation on the streets as well as Nepali media, Oli will be fortunate to be still at the helm in Nepal then.

(Anuj Arora is a journalist based in Kathmandu.)

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.