Kathmandu, Nepal The office of the President has been in the news after government initiate process to buy a set of expensive luxury cars amounting to Rs 180 million for the president Bidya Devi Bhandari.
As the government forwarded the process to buy bullet proof luxury cars after the Ministry of Finance has recently allocated a budget of Rs 180 billion for President Bhandari at the cost of tax payers’ money, people from various walks of life have vented ire through various social Medias.
Not only the issue of spending millions of rupees to buy luxurious car for the president but also the issue about the plan to remove Nepal Police Academy (NPA) from its current location to expand the president’s office has also been lambasted from the general public.
As the iconic building Shital Niwas, where president’s office has been housed, was donated to the government back in 1950s by Krishna Shumsher Rana, son of Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher, to use it as the state guesthouse.
The general public has suggested the government particularly the president Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to learn lesion from the history of generosity instead of trying to turn into a lavishing life from the proletariat communist backgrounds.
The government is criticized for not only becoming sensitive toward the wishes of the generous donor but for dragging the president into controversy on the name of buying luxurious cars.
As the NPA was planned to shift elsewhere location in the name of building helipad and other facilities to the president, the general public have even alleged the president ‘of kipping hidden ambitions of ceremonial president.’
The widely raised question is that why does the government have to pour in billions rupees to purchase luxury cars while plenty of luxury cars, including those used by former kings Gyanendra Shah are gathering dusts in various garages.
Some leaders and cadres of the ruling head Nepal Communist Party have also criticized for the plan to spend millions rupees on luxury cars and constructing helipad for the president while some have argued that the office of the president should be equipped with all the reasonable facilities.
As the state is struggling to manage resources to keep federal structures up and running, the government’s plan to buy luxurious cars and constructing helipad by shifting the NPA does not make any sense, it is likely that the government would back from the controversial plan.
