Kathmandu: The Nepal government has decided to withdraw the controversial social media bill, which was under consideration in Parliament. The Social Media Bill 2025, registered by the then-government led by deposed prime minister K P Sharma Oli last year, drew criticism from all quarters over its intention to control social media platforms.
"The government has decided to withdraw the Social Media Bill-2025 from the federal parliament," Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, who is also the government spokesperson, told media persons.
Last year, Prithvi Subba Gurung, the then-Minister for Communications and Information, had registered the bill in the National Assembly with a view to controlling social media sites. The Oli-led government had banned 26 social media sites even before the bill was endorsed by Parliament, sparking the youth-led Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 last year, which eventually led to Oli's resignation.
Major demands of Gen Z youths included lifting the ban on social media sites and checking the corruption prevailing in every sector.
Govt to deploy army for March 5 electionsTo strengthen law and order, Nepal's Army will begin deployment for the upcoming general elections from this week, an army official said. Under the House of Representatives Election Integrated Security Plan, personnel from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, and National Investigation Department will be deployed in an integrated manner. As per reports, the Nepal Army will deploy around 80,000 army personnel, while the total number of security personnel, including the temporary election police, will be around 3,40,000. The security personnel will guard around 10,800 polling stations and 23,100 polling booths spread across 165 constituencies. |
