Kathmandu: The decision of the Pokhara Metropolitan City to remove the image of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, which stood at the city’s Prithvi Chowk, has triggered backlash and criticism against the Mayor of Pokhara.
King Prithvi is regarded by the majority of Nepalis as the nation’s unifier and father of the nation.
Rallies were held in the streets of Pokhara protesting the decision of the Pokhara Metro.
The Mayor of Pokhara, Dhanraj Acharya, has been fiercely criticized by political leaders and intellectuals. They have demanded that he should immediately reinstall the image of the late King. Acharya was elected mayor of the city from Madhav Kumar Nepal-led CPN (Unified Socialist) which is a coalition partner in the government.
Pokhara Metropolitan City is said to have removed the image Saturday midnight despite the opposition from other leaders.
Two of the major areas in Pokhara have been named after king Prithvi—Prithvi chowk, among the busiest roundabouts and Prithvi Narayan Campus, the largest public campus in Gandaki province.
People have spoken out against the decision of Pokhara Metropolitan City. “It is condemnable that the image of King Prithvi was removed under the instruction of the Mayor at the middle of the night,” wrote Rajendra Lingden, the chair of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in his tweet. “It is utterly shameful that the image of the personality to whom we owe our identity has been removed in the middle of the night. I draw the attention of the government to immediately reinstall the image of the king.”
“Slow poison of progressivism (agragaman) is killing this country every single day,” wrote Rabindra Mishra, Senior Vice president of RPP.
“This is a hateful and condemnable conduct of the mayor. Let us all unite to protest the move,” wrote Jainendra Jeevan, a columnist and political analyst. “As long as Nepal’s existence and history remain, King Prithvi will remain.”
“Horrid and unacceptable,” commented Bishow Parajuli. “No one can change history..! Hope they regret and reinstall the statue.”
“Very condemnable and unfortunate move,” commented Bhimarjun Acharya, the constitutional expert and political analyst. “Such a leader cannot be the representative of the people,” he added, pointing to Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya.
“Condemnable act,” wrote Navita Srikant, an analyst based in New Delhi. “Will #Nepal ever achieve unified understanding about History and National heritage? There has to be zero tolerance for vandalizing or reckless disregard to the identity of the first ruler of unified Nepal, Shree Paanch Bada Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah Dev.” “Republic, Federalism or any form of political system shouldn’t be a whimsical reason to erase one’s history,” she added.
It should be noted that the incumbent government in December, 2022 had taken the decision to celebrate Poudeh 27–King Prithvi’s birthday–as National Unity Day, canceling the decision made by the Cabinet of Nepali Congress leader and then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala 16 years ago.
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