The nation’s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah was sworn in as prime minister after sweeping the first election since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government last year.
The 35-year-old reformist and his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) dominated this month’s polls on a platform of youth-driven political change, making him the country’s youngest prime minister.
“I, Balendra Shah, in the name of the country and people, pledge that I will be loyal to the constitution,” Shah said yesterday, dressed all in black, including his trademark dark sunglasses.
Crowds at the ceremony cheered and chanted his name after he formally took office.
Shah’s elaborate swearing-in ceremony included Hindu rituals, such as the “shankhnaad” or blowing of conches, and religious chanting by Hindu priests and Buddhist lamas.
The timing of Shah’s oath taking – at 12.34pm on the day when the Himalayan nation is celebrating Ram Navami – was seen as an auspicious time by Hindu priests based on astrological calculations. It also fits the “1-2-3-4” numerological pattern.
Shah later entered his new office at 14.15pm local time which also fits a “14-15” pattern.
Hindu priests consider such numerical patterns as auspicious as well.
Religion and astrology play a big role in Nepal, which is more than 80% Hindu and where people begin new work, get married and hold religious rituals according to auspicious times.
Shah was born in the capital Kathmandu but his family comes from the Hindu-dominated Terai region of Nepal, near the border with India.
A structural engineer who rose to fame as a rap artiste before becoming Kathmandu’s mayor, he leads the RSP, which won about two-thirds of the 275 seats in the bicameral Parliament’s powerful lower House of Representatives.
Shah emerged as a prominent voice during the bloody youth-led uprising in September that toppled the government in the nation of 30 million people, a wave of unrest that left dozens dead.
Although he didn’t directly participate in the protests, Shah publicly expressed support for the largely Gen Z demonstrators who led the movement.
Shah was sworn in a day after he released his first public statement since winning the March 5 elections, via a rap song posted on social media.
“The strength of unity is my national power,” Shah sang in the song, which has racked up nearly three million views since being released on social media and streaming sites on Thursday.
He campaigned alongside the RSP president, combative television host Rabi Lamichhane, 51, a former deputy prime minister and interior minister, and now a fellow lawmaker who retains a pivotal role in power.
“My heart is full of courage, my red blood is boiling; my brothers stand with me, this time we will rise,” Shah added in his song, over a video of him campaigning for election.
“May my breath not run out; I will run like a leopard,” he added.
Shortly after his rap song was released, the outgoing interim prime minister bid farewell to the nation in a televised broadcast.
Sushila Karki, 73, a former chief justice who had led the caretaker administration for six months, said the country’s future lay in the hands of a younger generation.
“I am confident that the new government to be formed under the leadership of the youth will work towards ending corruption in the country, establishing good governance, creating jobs within the country, economic development and social justice,” she said.
“I am looking forward to the bright future of this country with full confidence – where our unity, honesty and the hard work of every citizen will write a new history.”
Karki, who had ordered an investigation into the crackdown on protesters, said in her statement on Thursday that a report with the findings would be released. She did not give further details.
According to a leaked copy of the report seen by AFP, the commission investigating the events recommended the prosecution of ex-prime minister KP Sharma Oli, who was toppled in the uprising.
Four-time prime minister and Marxist leader Oli, 74, was defeated by Shah in Oli’s own constituency.
At least 77 people were killed in the anti-corruption youth uprising, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into long-standing fury over economic hardship in the nation of 30 million people.
No one has been convicted of the killings.
Former interior minister Ramesh Lekhak and ex-police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung should also be investigated and prosecuted, according to the recommendations in the report.
Lekhak bore “overall responsibility for home administration, security agencies, and maintaining law and order”, the report said, adding that he and Oli “did not appear to have made any effort on the afternoon ... to prevent further human casualties”.
The report said it was “not established that there was an order to shoot”, but “no effort was made to stop or control the firing, and due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives”.
The report said that in 48 of the 63 completed autopsies victims died from bullet wounds, with the majority struck in the chest or head. — AFP/AP
