Nepali politicians are notorious for making unnecessary remarks that stir controversy. But few match Prime Minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli when it comes to saying things unbecoming of his office.

Prime Minister Oli delivered similar remarks on Sunday while addressing a training session for his party’s ward chairpersons organised by the UML Bagmati Province Committee.

At the event, Oli instructed his cadres to counter the protest planned by the monarchists on May 29. Various pro-monarchy groups have announced an indefinite protest in Kathmandu starting that day, coinciding with the Republic Day.

He even instructed that the UML cadres take the streets of Kathmandu under their control on the day.

“From 11 am to 2 pm on May 29, Kathmandu should be under the control of the CPN-UML. Forget who’s leading which front, or which group is organising the event,” he ordered.

Former officers of Nepal Police say the prime minister’s statement suggests that he intends to provoke a confrontation on the day.

His remarks are aimed at the pro-monarchy groups who want to bring back the Hindu kingdom. The agitating groups, who have announced to hold their demonstrations peacefully, have urged civic organisations including the National Human Rights Commission to monitor the protests.

The prime minister’s Sunday remarks have raised eyebrows. Even leaders from the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress have said Oli should have restrained himself.

Gagan Thapa, a Congress general secretary, told mediapersons that such remarks should not come from him [Prime Minister Oli] in the future.

Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said the Congress will not take responsibility for Prime Minister Oli’s every remark. Both Thapa and Mahat stated this on Monday after the party office-bearers meeting.

Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken serious exception to the head of government’s remarks.

“In a democratic country, it is the responsibility of the state’s security agencies to maintain law and order. For any particular party to claim control over any area is not only contrary to the rule of law but also encourages a culture of intolerance,” reads a press release issued by the commission on Monday. “The constitution and laws of Nepal do not prohibit peaceful expression of thought and opinion. In this context, the prime minister’s remarks… are deeply concerning.”

Amid growing public frustration over political parties’ failure in governance, experts say it is irresponsible of the country’s prime minister to make remarks that further inflame the situation, especially when restraint is expected. Such statements, they say, undermine the democratic right to hold differing opinions enshrined in the constitution.

“The prime minister’s statement appears intended to provoke the public, as he perhaps senses a danger to the current political system from the street,” said Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert.

Adhikari believes only the state has a monopoly on the use of force. If the political cadres start using force to counter protests of other political parties, he added, the concept of state’s monopoly on the use of force will be undermined.

Adhikari said everyone has a constitutional right to express their opinion and the prime minister’s statement undercuts this right.

The ‘indefinite’ Kathmandu-centred protest, scheduled to begin on May 29, is being jointly organised by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, the Joint People’s Movement Committee led by Panchayat-era leader Nabaraj Subedi, among other groups, including the one led by Keshar Bahadur Bista and sympathisers of the Hindu state and monarchy.

This isn’t the first time Oli has made such provocative remarks.

He gave similar statements ahead of the pro-monarchist protest planned at Tinkune on March 28.

On March 26, Prime Minister Oli urged volunteers of the Yuva Sangh, the UML youth wing, to pounce on pro-monarchy protests “like a tiger.”

“You must leap like a tiger and attack monarchists,” Prime Minister Oli said. The protest of that day culminated in two deaths and scores of injuries.

During the protest, which escalated into riots, private and public properties, as well as media houses and supermarkets, were vandalised.

UML leaders, however, claim that its demonstration on May 29 is intended to celebrate the Republic Day and has nothing to do with the pro-monarchists’ protest.

In preparation for the May 29 rally, the UML convened a meeting of office-bearers from the party’s sister wings on Monday at party headquarters in Chyasal. The meeting, chaired by party general secretary Shankar Pokhrel devised a strategy to ensure maximum public participation on the day.

The meeting assigned party leaders with responsibilities to ensure maximum mass mobilisation.

According to General Secretary Pokhrel, the demonstration aims to commemorate Republic Day in a way that resonates with the general public while countering misinformation spread by royalist groups against the republican system.

Senior Vice-Chairman Ishwar Pokhrel and Standing Committee member Krishna Gopal Shrestha have been tasked with ensuring effective mobilisation from Kathmandu district. In addition, all the secretariat members of the party will be involved in the mass mobilisation.

Secretary Gokarna Bista, assigned to coordinate among the sister wings, expressed his unawareness about Prime Minister Oli’s statement and claimed that their rally was planned to commemorate the ‘Republic Day’ and strengthen the country’s republican system.

“We are organising the event to celebrate the Republic Day,” Bista said. “It has nothing to do with the demonstration organised by the royalists.”

In view of the royalists’ protest on May 29, the security agencies held a meeting on Sunday at Baluwatar in the presence of Prime Minister Oli. The meeting, which was attended by the heads of four security agencies, discussed Kathmandu’s security arrangements on that day, said a top security officer privy to the meeting.

“The security agencies are prepared for the day and we won’t make the kind of mistakes we did in the past,” the officer said. But he also expressed concern over the prime minister’s provocative statement as that could inflame the situation on the day of protests.

In response to his remarks, the ‘Joint People’s Movement Mobilisation Committee for the Restoration of the Monarchy’ has challenged Prime Minister Oli to come out on the street alone on May 29.

“We challenge the prime minister, who speaks of capturing the capital, to walk alone on the streets, without his security personnel and supporters, just as a king would,” reads the statement issued by Swagat Nepal, the spokesperson of the committee.

Former King Gyanendra Shah, deposed in 2008, often visits various parts of the country, particularly religious sites. On May 24, he also visited the Chaturvyuha Narayan Dham temple within the former royal palace, Narayanhiti, which has now been converted into a museum.

Following the Tinkune incident on March 28, he has held meetings with various pro-monarchy leaders, at least on three occasions. On Sunday, he left for Jhapa for two weeks along with some of his family members.