'I, too, have a heart like yours, don't call me cold-hearted'

Kathmandu: The ward President of Kathmandu Metropolitan City-32, Nabaraj Parajuli, has expressed his sadness over a social media post made by Mayor Balen Shah that singled him out. Parajuli charged Mayor Shah of falsifying information in his post.

Prior to the city assembly meeting on June 16, Mayor Shah had issued a warning about bringing Congress and UML slogans to the gathering. He said that three people had jeopardized the opportunity to speak on behalf of 160 representatives.

Ward President Parajuli stressed, nevertheless, that they had just asked Mayor Shah to reschedule the meeting by one hour because of scheduling conflicts. He questioned if Mayor Shah's use of 'just three individuals to rule 160 people' was appropriate and whether it infringed upon their rights. Parajuli expressed sadness about Mayor Shah's facebook status update.

"Are we autocrats?" Parajuli asked. Rejecting accusations of authoritarian behavior, he emphasized that leaders of all political parties had consistently worked together to address concerns in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

He reaffirmed their dedication to serving the people by highlighting their history of opposing monarchy and despotism. Parajuli cautioned against starting a bad trend and called for polite conversation on social media free from oppression or provocation.

Instead of making allegations in public, he recommended correcting errors through the appropriate procedures. In closing, Parajuli pleaded with Mayor Shah to consider his viewpoint and not judge him harshly, adding, "I too have a heart like yours, don't call me cold-hearted." He was referring to a popular Nepali song sung by Narayan Gopal, Nepalese music maestro.