A protest has spread on social media after an incident involving BP Koirala’s statue in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-12. Some groups claimed that black paint was smeared on the statue, which has sparked public outrage.
Supporters of the monarchy, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), were blamed for the act. On Saturday evening, RPP and royalist groups organized a torch rally demanding the release of RPP General Secretary and MP Dhawal Shumsher Rana.
During the rally, some accused the group of smearing black paint on the statue. However, Banke District Police Chief SP Tul Bahadur Karki denied this. He explained, “There was a scuffle between the protesters and police. A piece of cloth from a sack accidentally landed on the statue. Police removed it immediately. No black paint was used.”
Former deputy mayor of Nepalgunj and Nepali Congress leader Uma Thapa Magar also clarified that no paint was thrown. “Some unruly individuals threw a piece of cloth at BP’s statue during the rally. RPP had taken out the torch rally, but they didn’t paint the statue. The cloth has been removed,” she said.
RPP spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shrestha also denied the party’s involvement in any disrespectful act. In a Facebook post, he questioned, “Would you believe it if someone said RPP misbehaved with BP’s or anyone’s statue?” He emphasized that RPP respects history and would never take part in such actions. He added, “The world knows who does such things.”
He even hinted that, like in the Tikathali (Tinkune) incident, there might have been outsiders involved in Nepalgunj as well.
