KP Sharma Oli Faces Social Media Backlash Over Renewed Promise of Domestic Gas Pipeline Project

Kathmandu. Former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli posted on Facebook on Magh 22, "We excavated gas in Dailekh, now we will supply it to every home." Oli, who is contesting the House of Representatives election from Jhapa Constituency No. 5 scheduled for फागुन 21, is being trolled on social media for reviving the stale gas politics. Most of the 25,500 comments mocked him. Oli had emphasized the need to dream for development, realize those dreams, and implement them accordingly.

When he first became Prime Minister in 2072 BS, the daily life of common citizens was disrupted due to the undeclared blockade imposed by neighboring India. Oli became very popular as a nationalist leader for standing with the common citizens who endured great hardship but did not bow down to the blockade.

During the Junga Bahadur Rana (Junga) rebellion on Bhadra 23, when Oli was the Prime Minister, a unique situation arose where he had to flee the government the next day after 23 youths were killed in the Parliament Building in New Baneshwor. The enraged mob destroyed central administrative buildings like Singha Durbar, the Parliament Building, the Supreme Court, and public and private property across the country.

Sushila Karki, who became Prime Minister on Oli's recommendation, has been expressing dissatisfaction with the dissolution of parliament and the announcement of elections. Initially hesitant to go to elections, she approached the Supreme Court with the issue of reinstating parliament with the support of the ruling coalition partner, the Nepali Congress. Finally, as all political parties agreed to go to elections, the UML was compelled to contest the election under Oli's leadership.

Oli, who has been contesting elections from Jhapa-5 continuously since 2048 BS, appears stressed this time as Balen Shah, the former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, has challenged him. Oli, who has served as Prime Minister four times, has won all elections except the 2064 Constituent Assembly election. He became unpopular after dissolving parliament twice against the constitution in 2074 BS, and he is widely criticized due to the Junga massacre. Oli is under pressure to win this election, which is taking place under unusual circumstances. During his election campaign in Jhapa, he reiterated his commitment to bringing gas pipelines to every home in his interaction with voters on Monday.

"Gas will be excavated in Nepal now. Gas should be burned. It is not gas brought from abroad; they have stopped excavating the gas now and locked it up there. It can be brought via pipeline and stored in a central water tank. Pipelines can be brought to every house. No cylinder is needed for that. Instead of moving towards that, saying one should burn cow dung cakes is not appropriate," he said while addressing the voters of Jhapa.

Oli also responded to the widespread criticism he faced recently over his statement that there was no situation like burning cow dung cakes in Mahottari and Dhanusha a while ago. He clarified that people should not be confused in the name of preserving culture and eradicating poverty.

"We should rise above burning cow dung cakes. We must develop. Burning cow dung cakes is not culture. That was backwardness and must be removed," he said. "One cannot move forward by twisting anything inappropriately and creating sentiment. We should not burn cow dung cakes or firewood; we should move towards using electricity now."

Oli asserted that when he was Prime Minister for the first time, there was a shortage of fuel used in daily life, so he himself said that they would excavate gas and ensure gas reached kitchens via pipelines so that the morale of the Nepali people would not weaken at that time.

Oli, who was very popular during his first term, won the 2074 election with 57,139 votes by giving a nationalist slogan. His competitor, Khagendra Adhikari of the Nepali Congress, received 28,257 votes. However, at that time, the then UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) had a leftist alliance. He had also formed an electoral alliance with Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden in Jhapa-5 and Jhapa-3. At that time, the leftist alliance secured nearly a two-thirds majority. After the election, he became Prime Minister on फागुन 3, 2074. During his second term, Oli had announced bringing gas pipelines to every home. He made unbelievable statements like bringing a railway from Kerung-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini via China. Furthermore, he claimed that ships would operate on Nepal's major rivers within five years and asked the parliamentarians to book tickets for the ships while standing at the rostrum of the parliament. Oli became a major troll on social media for distributing such absurd and seemingly impossible dreams. Opposition parties continue to use the promises he himself made as fodder against him, criticizing that the projects he committed to have not even begun the implementation process despite him serving as Prime Minister four times.

In the first week of Asar, a preliminary report submitted by a Chinese geological survey company to the Oli government regarding the exploration of petroleum products and natural gas in Dailekh revealed that the Jaljale area was a vast storage site for methane gas.

The confirmation of a storage of 1.12 billion cubic meters of methane gas was made after testing the samples collected from the first drilling operation started on Baisakh 28, 2078 BS. Based on that preliminary result, it is clear that Oli has made gas politics an election issue out of excitement.

Oli claimed that during his tenure, it was confirmed last year that there was 112 billion cubic meters of methane gas. He asserted that work had begun with a plan for commercial production last Mangsir after the sample testing was successful. However, Oli stated that the work could not proceed as he left the government in Bhadra.

Oli, who was elected chairman for the third time at the party's 11th General Convention held in the last week of Mangsir, has been proposed by the UML as the future Prime Minister. On the other hand, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which emerged as an alternative to the old parties, has put forward Balen Shah as the future Prime Minister. The interesting competition between Balen, who is very popular among the youth on social media, and Oli, who has built an image as an experienced politician, has focused the entire nation's attention on Jhapa-5.