The conflict between the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah and leadership of the ruling party, the CPN-UML, seems to be deepening as the two sides show no sign of rapprochement.

In the latest episode, the KMC has fined the ruling UML Rs100,000 for littering the streets of the capital city Kathmandu while holding a mass meet on Friday. Within hours of the conclusion of the UML’s ‘Awakening rally against anarchy’ at Durbarmarg in downtown Kathmandu, the KMC made public a decision saying that the city office had fined the ruling party.

But the UML leadership took serious exception to the mayor’s action.

“It can be understood that Kathmandu Metropolis Mayor Balen [Balendra] has been used [by someone] against the CPN-UML, which has become clearer after the issuance of today’s ‘pamphlet’,” UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel wrote on Facebook a few hours after the issuance of the city office’s fine notice. He claimed that members of the rally organising committee were busy cleaning the area on their own when the metropolitan officials issued the notice.

KMC representatives reached the UML party office in Chyasal on Sunday to hand over the receipt of the fine issued on Friday. After the party refused to receive it, the notice of fine was sent to the party office by email today (Monday), said Nabin Manandhar, KMC spokesperson.

UML’s office secretary, Bhisma Adhikari, denied the allegations that the party littered the street during the rally. If there had been rubbish, our cadres would have cleaned it up. Adhikari said, “But the KMC issued a notice against us to defame our party, which is a politically motivated action.”

Adhikari also stated that his party wouldn’t pay the fine and that the party office had not received any mail from the KMC.

The City’s assistant spokesperson, Dhurba Kumar Kafle, differs. Kafle says a team from the environment department and the metropolitan police were present at the demonstration venue. It was only after inspecting the ground that the KMC slapped a fine, he said.

Political observers say the KMC has been selective in imposing the fine.

They, however, criticised the party for disrupting the traffic on Friday, badly affecting people’s daily lives.

“Picking a party to impose a fine but turning a blind eye to similar activities carried out by other parties shows the City’s bias,” Keshav Dahal, a political analyst, said. “To prove they are not biased, the KMC from now on should penalise other political forces and groups as well for carrying out similar activities.”

For the past few months, the streets of Kathmandu have witnessed many protests by various political parties. Before the UML, the main opposition party, CPN (Maoist Centre), organised a protest rally on October 26 in Kathmandu. Until recently, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was in the street, holding multiple street protests in Kathmandu, claiming the arrest of their party chief Rabi Lamichhane was politically motivated.

The City spokesperson Manandhar denied the allegation of being biased.

“When the other parties had organised protests, the KMC did not see the necessity of issuing a fine as there was less garbage,” Manandhar said. “But the UML’s gathering compelled us to issue a notice of fine.”

Jhalak Subedi, a political analyst, however thinks both the UML and the KMC are engaging in stunts.

“The City issued a fine against UML and the UML put up a vehement denial after being imposed a fine. Both were doing stunts,” Subedi said. But it would have been more mature of the UML to respond to the KMC as per existing laws, he added.

“If there is a lack of a policy in this connection, the UML could have vowed to bring the policy so that such incidents can be better handled in the future,” Subedi said.

On April 9, the KMC had fined the Rastriya Prajantra Party (RPP) Rs5,000 for littering the streets of Kathmandu while staging a protest. Recalling the episode, Nilkantha Kafle, the treasurer of the RPP, said that the party had paid the fine.

“We realised that we could have made a mistake by not cleaning up the streets after demonstrations. So we paid the fine,” Kafle said.

Political analyst Subedi reckons the latest incident could be the result of bitter relations between UML chair KP Sharma Oli and KMC mayor Balendra Shah.

Of late, Prime Minister Oli and other leaders from his party have been engaged in one after another dispute with Mayor Shah.

On June 3, Shah accused Oli of engaging in ‘policy corruption’ by being involved in illegal land swap of Giri Bandhu Tea Estate in Jhapa.

After that, then deputy prime minister and minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth tried to halt the mayor’s plan to widen pavements in the Capital’s New Road area. Mayor Shah even sent metropolitan workers to dump a truckload of dirt in front of the office of the road department, which is under Mahaseth’s ministry.

In September, Mayor Shah criticised Prime Minister Oli for failing to take action against UML provincial assembly member Rekha Sharma, who was accused of abusing a child domestic worker for eight years.

“The court has also decided to prosecute the accused,” Shah wrote on Facebook. “Respected prime minister, good governance entails taking action against your lawmaker accused of domestic violence.”

“Perhaps to you, good governance is limited to announcing a compensation of Rs100,000 and shedding crocodile tears on Facebook over her death,” Mayor Shah wrote on the social media post.

Previously, the UML and Mayor Shah had argued for and against implementing the Supreme Court ruling that ordered vacating the Bagmati riverside land.