Rimal and Shahi trade barbs on social media over Adityanath photo at royalists' rally

Kathmandu, March 11 — There is an ongoing exchange of accusations between Bishnu Rimal, the Deputy General Secretary of the CPN (UML) and a key advisor to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) MP Gyan Bahadur (Gyanendra) Shahi.

The war of words that started between the two leaders on Sunday over the use of a picture of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the welcome of former King Gyanendra Shah has not stopped even on Tuesday.

At Tribhuvan International Airport, during the welcome of former King Shah, an RPP worker, Pradeep Bikram Rana, displayed a board with a picture of Chief Minister Adityanath.

Rimal had posted the same picture on Facebook, referring to it as "photos used by nationalist gentlemen during the rally."

On Monday morning, RPP spokesperson and MP Shahi accused Rimal of sending his supporter, as a pro-monarchy sympathizer, to carry a poster of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath at the rally.

Shahi claimed this was done under the instructions of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to undermine the royalists' rally.

"Yesterday, during the welcome of the former King, it was discovered that Prime Minister’s chief political advisor Bishnu Rimal had sent a person to display the photo of India's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, under the direct orders of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli." Shah wrote on Monday. "Those who are running the party with foreign agendas and principles are now making big claims. It is surprising to see this, given that Marx, Lenin, and Mao belong to which countries?"

After Shah's comments, Rimal responded on social media, criticizing Shah for his tendency to "steal cucumbers and put their seeds on others' faces."

"Thieves steal cucumbers, eat them, and in fear of being caught, quickly stick their seeds on someone else's face and pretend to be righteous," Rimal wrote. "Middlemen first do the mediating, and when their hypocrisy is exposed, they engage in such antics to save their reputation."

On Tuesday, Shah again suggested that Rimal should prepare to become a ward chairman. "How can we even say 'honorable' after hearing your words? The words 'honorable' have become meaningless. Stop giving a dog's howl in the name of democracy," Shah wrote on Facebook on Tuesday morning.

He questioned whether Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had been directly elected by the people.

"Was His Excellency the President directly elected by the people? Democracy has become a tool for people like you to loot. If you have the courage, make Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli prepare to be directly elected as an executive Prime Minister. And you, Prime Minister's chief advisor Bishnu Rimal, prepare for the position of ward chairman," Shah wrote.