The arrest of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and his home minister until September last year, Ramesh Lekhak, early Saturday amid heavy security deployment in a swift move after new government formation has inflamed the political scenario.

The CPN-UML has already hit the streets and the sister organisations of Nepali Congress have issued separate statements to warn that they will be forced to take to the streets against “the political vendetta” initiated by the Balendra Shah government.

Party leaders said that the action taken by the government against the leaders of the administration at the time of the September Gen Z uprising will bring opposition parties together. This could put pressure on the Rastriya Swatantra Party government.

The UML has tasked its senior leaders with holding dialogue but no other party has decided to join the street agitation so far.

As per the Cabinet decision to implement the report of the Gauri Bahadur Karki commission that investigated the deadly suppression of the Gen-Z movement, the home ministry had ordered the arrests.

The report has recommended implicating Oli and Lekhak for the September 8-9 crackdown where a total of 76 people were killed and scores injured.

Soon after Oli’s arrest, the UML convened a meeting of the party secretariat on Saturday morning. It decided to move against the arrest legally and politically.

Throughout the day, the UML staged protests in several districts including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of UML cadres took to the streets in the Maitighar–Baneshwar area. The UML has decided to raise the issue in Parliament and is going to build a front against the vendetta, said UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel.

The party has entrusted its senior leaders Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bishnu Paudel to talk with other opposition parties including the Nepali Congress to form a common position against the arrests.

In some districts including Surkhet, the home town of Lekhak, cadres of the Congress and the UML demonstrated on the streets.

Congress youth outfits Nepal Tarun Dal and Nepal Student Union also issued separate statements and warned of taking to the streets unless the government withdraws its provocative action.

The Congress-aligned Nepal Student Union (NSU) stated that the arrests of Oli and Lekhak go against the fundamental principles of the rule of law.

Issuing a statement on Saturday, the NSU demanded that the government release them. It also warned of protests if the authorities attempted to forcibly implement what it called a biased decision.

After the arrest, both Congress camps, one led by Gagan Thapa and the other by Purna Bahadur Khadka, held separate meetings and reviewed the situation following the arrest of its leader and Oli. Both sides have, without joining UML’s street protests, urged the government to conduct free, fair and impartial trials.

After its meeting, the Thapa-led Congress establishment stated: “We would like to reiterate that the public has the right to know who was involved not only in the incidents of September 8 but also in the arson and vandalism the following day.”

The statement issued by Congress spokesperson Devraj Chalise demanded that whoever is found to be involved in the incidents of both days must be brought to justice. “We will extend our full support in that regard but such action must not be taken in haste, emotion, or provocation; it must strictly follow the due legal process.”

The party clarified that there was no immediate decision to launch any protest programmes.

“If the government itself fails to act with restraint and maturity, hasty decisions can weaken the rule of law and may push the country back towards conflict and instability,” the Congress statement warned.

The Congress urged the government to act with seriousness on this matter. The government’s behaviour appears biased, said spokesperson Chalise.

Another Congress meeting led by Khadka condemned the action carried out in violation of the Constitution and the prevailing laws.

The meeting also demanded the immediate release of those concerned, said the statement, this ill-intentioned act, claimed to have been carried out on the basis of the recommendations of the Karki Commission formed under the leadership of Sushila Karki, has raised serious constitutional and legal questions.

In the name of implementing the Commission’s report, although page 37 of the report recommends “forwarding a recommendation to the government of Nepal to conduct investigation, inquiry, and prosecution”, arresting officials of the coalition government without completing any due process is against the rule of law and is motivated by prejudice, the statement read.

This meeting of the Congress commits to constitutionally, legally, and politically opposing this action and also makes an appeal to party members across the country to be prepared to face any political circumstances that may arise.

Senior Nepali Communist Party leader Jagannath Khatiwada said that action taken against Oli and Lekhak was totally a wrong move. Such an act will bring opposition parties together, he said. “Such a discriminatory action without having a valid legal basis is going to be counterproductive to the government itself.”

But the NCP has not officially taken any decision regarding the arrests.

Shram Saskriti Party Chairman Harka Sampang said it would be better if the government had acted according to the law, rules, and procedures.

“If it tries to move too fast in cinematic fashion, I see signs of accidents and destruction ahead,” Sampang wrote on Facebook, “I am even starting to worry whether there will be another mid-term election! If the film ends before it even starts, what are we supposed to understand from it?”