KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen) took a jab at Nepali Congress (NC) President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Saturday, sarcastically asking, “Which VPN are you using to run Facebook?”
The comment came after Deuba posted photos from a public event — despite the government’s recent ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook.
Earlier in the day, Deuba had acknowledged at Biratnagar Airport that the platforms had been blocked for operating without registration in Nepal. Yet, by evening, he shared five photos from an event in Sunsari on the very platform that had supposedly been restricted — raising questions and drawing widespread criticism online.
Deuba was in Bhokraha, Sunsari, to attend the first anniversary of the Nepal Urau Sangh. Speaking at a cultural program organized by the Central Working Committee of the Sangh to mark Karam Purva Sandhya and Karam Puja, Deuba refrained from making political remarks.
Instead, he emphasized the need for all three tiers of government — local, provincial, and federal — to support the upliftment of the Urav community and preserve its distinct cultural heritage.
His post from the event read: “Today, I addressed the establishment day and Karam Puja program of Nepal Urau Sangh in Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality of Sunsari.”
The timing of the post triggered a flood of ironic comments, with Balen’s being the most prominent. Shah, who built much of his 2022 election campaign on Facebook and has been affected by the current restrictions, commented:
“Which VPN is this post from — Nepali or foreign? It must be really difficult to run Facebook through a VPN!”
His sarcastic response struck a chord with many, capturing the growing frustration among citizens over the government’s handling of digital freedoms — and highlighting the contradiction between public statements and actual behavior by political leaders.
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