A meeting of Oli clan is scheduled at the Prime Minister's Official residence in Baluwatar for Saturday in yet another blatant abuse of the public property by Nepali prime ministers.
All the recent prime ministers have been holding their party meetings at Baluwatar but the current PM KP Sharma Oli has gone one step ahead and is holding the general convention of Oli clan at Baluwatar.
A public notice has been put on the social media inviting all Olis to Baluwatar at 10:30 Saturday morning. The program organized by the revolving fund of Oli clan will also felicitate PM Oli, his father Mohan Prasad and wife Radhika Shakya.
"We are organizing the program at Baluwatar after PM asked us to go there if we want to felicitate them," a member of the organization told Setopati. "Around 400-500 persons may assemble. We have also made arrangements for snacks."
The program will run for around three-four hours, according to the member.
Confirming organization of the program at Baluwatar press advisor to PM Oli Kundan Aryal called it a non-issue. "It is a family program. PM's cadres, well-wishers and family members come at the place where he lives. This is not a big deal," Aryal argued.
Former bureaucrats and civil society leaders have been lobbying against organization of programs not related to the government at Baluwatar pointing that taxpayers' money is spent on such programs.
Former chief secretary Lila Mani Paudel, and secretaries Sharada Trital and Krishna Trital had publicly slammed the then PM Sher Bahadur Deuba for regularly convening central committee meeting of Nepali Congress (NC) at Baluwatar at the start of 2018.
Talking to Setopati at the time the then leaders of CPN (Maoist Center) Narayan Kaji Shrestha and CPN-UML Pradeep Gyawali had said such programs should not be held at Baluwatar.
A secretary who has worked at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for a long time told Setopati that payment for expenses incurred in such programs is made by the PMO in a lump sum under meeting expenses at the PM's residence.
