MP Sobita Gautam reports abuse during constituency visit

Kathmandu, Aug 5: Rashtriya Swatantra Party MP Sobita Gautam has called on the government to address the abuse she experienced.

Speaking at the House of Representatives meeting on Monday, MP Gautam urged the government to take serious notice of the misconduct she encountered while inspecting flood and landslide damage in her constituency on Sunday.

MP Gautam described the incident as follows:

"On Sunday evening, I was going to observe the floods and landslides in my constituency. I reached Manakamana village in Kageshwari Manhara-6. On the opposite side of the hill from Mulpani Cricket Stadium is a temple. Below the temple, there is a house and a tea shop, and beyond that, a village. When I first arrived, some locals were waiting at the tea shop to show me the landslide.

After we reached the site of the landslide and were returning, about 15 to 20 people had gathered at the tea shop. These individuals were inebriated; some were high on marijuana, some were drunk, and others were in a normal state. As I arrived, they began to surround me and questioned why I was only going to visit the elderly people. They created a commotion, surrounded me, and used offensive language.

Despite my attempts to reason with them, I was subjected to abusive language about my work in the constituency. Feeling challenged, I approached the tea shop, but some people recorded videos of the incident, which included verbal abuse directed at me. My personal secretary reported the incident to the DSP of Bouddha, but after reviewing the video, it was evident that only the footage of me was posted.

Upon checking the profile of the person who posted the video, it was found that he was affiliated with a national party. If this is how a woman is treated in an attempt to create controversy, should I now have to be cautious about my safety even when visiting my own constituency? The government needs to consider these security challenges and address such serious issues."