Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Gagan Thapa has urged the ruling CPN to give rest to the ailing Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli.
"I have heard friends from the CPN address him as a father figure. PM is indeed like a father. What would we say if our father takes ill? We would say don't tire yourself, take rest. If we can say so to our father why can't we say that to the fatherly PM?" Thapa asked speaking in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Wednesday.
Pointing that CPN has many leaders who wish to become PM or have already become one, Thapa said the party should give rest to the ailing PM. "Please give rest to the PM. There is already the question of national security and diplomatic decorum when the PM stays abroad for such a long time. One cannot fulfill the responsibility of governance by holding discussion with the ministers through video conferencing," he added.
Thapa also asked why the House has not been briefed about the PM's health.
PM Oli has been undergoing plasmapheresis at the National University Hospital in Singapore. He will undego plasmapheresis for the seventh occasion on Wednesday.
Plasmapheresis is a term used to refer to a broad range of procedures through which blood components are filtered outside the body. It is likely that the procedure has been done on PM Oli, who had a kidney transplant 12 years ago, to remove antibodies for immunosuppression.
PM Oli is likely to return on Friday. He had left for Singapore on August 22 just 10 days after a nine-day stay at the hospital there.
