Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Amresh Kumar Singh on Thursday delivered a sharp public criticism of Prime Minister Balendra Shah's government, telling journalists outside the parliament building that the country is effectively being run by unelected advisers in what he called an authoritarian, "gangster-like" style and singling out unspecified foreign travel by an adviser as improper.
"No adviser has the right to go abroad in collusion with any intelligence agency," Singh said, according to a Nepali media portal's report on his remarks. "After receiving state facilities at the ministerial level, one should leave formally from the airport wearing a tie and suit; there was no need to go secretly."
Singh did not name the adviser or the country involved in his Thursday remarks. But the language closely echoes a still-unresolved controversy from July, when a Nepali media portal reported that Kumar Byanjankar widely known by the nickname "Ben" and serving as PM Shah's chief adviser had secretly travelled to New Delhi in the first week of July and met India's National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, along with other senior Indian foreign ministry officials. That report said no official from the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi was present at the meetings, a departure from the diplomatic protocol Shah's own government has said it follows, which requires Foreign Ministry representatives to be present when Nepali officials meet foreign diplomats. Byanjankar has repeatedly and categorically denied travelling to India or meeting Indian officials, when asked directly by a Nepali media portal at the time.
ICN has not independently confirmed whether Singh's Thursday remarks specifically refer to the Byanjankar episode, since he did not name anyone. The description an adviser travelling abroad secretly rather than through official channels, in a manner Singh linked to "any intelligence agency" closely tracks the unresolved July reporting, but this connection is drawn by ICN based on the similarity of language, not confirmed directly by Singh, and should be treated as an inference pending confirmation.
Singh, speaking during Thursday's House of Representatives session and afterward to reporters, also accused the government of undermining Nepal's constitution, alleged nepotism in appointments including at the Ministry of Education, and criticised what he called the Home Minister's attempts to intimidate opposition leaders and journalists. He linked the government's troubles to a broader pattern, citing delays in the Bhotekoshi flood rescue response and ongoing fertiliser shortages affecting farmers, and warned that continued marginalisation of the Madhesi community could contribute to the government's collapse.
Singh is a member of the RSP, the same party as Prime Minister Shah, making his remarks a rare instance of public criticism from within the ruling coalition rather than from the opposition.
