KATHMANDU: Nepal saw huge protests on Tuesday after the sudden ouster of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Kulman Ghising.
The move, taken on Monday night, has caused public outcry, with protesters marching in the streets calling for his return. Protesters clashed with police around the parliament in Kathmandu, reflecting the ferocity of the opposition.
Security personnel found it increasingly difficult to hold back the crowds seeking to invade off-limits areas as tensions mounted. The rallies became more violent later in the night when All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary) members set an effigy of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli ablaze.
The protesters decried the government's action, referring to it as a politically driven move meant to destabilize the nation's energy sector.
The ouster of Ghising was completed in a cabinet meeting at Singha Durbar on Monday, where Hitendra Dev Shakya was reappointed as the new Managing Director of NEA. Shakya, who was earlier in the post before being replaced by Ghising, had been involved in a long legal battle regarding his removal.
Despite 31 hearings in the Supreme Court, his case was still pending. His renewed appointment, less than a fortnight before his initial term ended, has generated huge criticism, with most claiming political pressure was exerted in this regard.
Ghising is widely regarded for revolutionizing Nepal's power industry by eradicating the infamous 18-hour power outages. Under his leadership, Nepal experienced considerable boosts in power availability and infrastructure.
But his ouster was apparently due to a negative performance review, which is widely suspected of having been fudged. When Ghising himself graded his performance for the fiscal year 2023-24, he graded it at 98.99%. His performance, however, was graded zero by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation in which is a stunning surprise.
His performance grades had, in earlier years, been consistently high at 94.23% and 98.94%, adding to suspicions of political manipulation.
They accused the government of giving more emphasis to political considerations than to country progress, rallying with slogans including "Ujyalo Nepal Zindabad" (Long Live Bright Nepal) and "Adharo Sarkar Murdabad" (Down with the Dark Government).
"Kulman Ghising had just three months left in his term, but he was removed in what appears to be a political coup. The action by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli against democracy, and we are again on the streets to struggle for institutional integrity," said Narayan Sharma, one of the protesters.
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