CPN-UML Secretary Mahesh Basnet has made public some excerpts from the written statement submitted by party Chairman KP Sharma Oli to the commission formed to investigate the incidents of September 8 and 9.
On Sunday, a team from the commission visited Oli’s residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, to record his statement.
On Tuesday, Basnet shared on Facebook what he claimed were the "key points" of Oli’s response to the commission’s team, outlining six main points.
First, during a meeting of the National Security Council on the evening of September 7, discussions were held on ensuring that the movement remained peaceful, refraining from the use of force, and providing support to youth and students.
Second, the youths involved in the movement themselves had already acknowledged that unruly groups had infiltrated the protest.
Third, photographs and videos from the time clearly showed that most of the people involved in the movement were not from the Gen Z generation.
Fourth, after vandalism and the sudden opening of fire began on September 8, discussions were held with the home minister and all security chiefs and a decision was made to form an inquiry committee.
Fifth, although it was deemed necessary to deploy the Nepal Army to bring the situation under control on September 9, it was not possible to do so.
Sixth, Oli said that since Gauri Bahadur Karki had already expressed his views publicly on social media on the day of the incident as well as before and after it, there were doubts about whether an impartial report would be produced, according to Basnet’s post.
