A video purportedly featuring a recent interview with Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist–Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli after he stepped down as Prime Minister due to the Gen Z protests in the country is going viral on social media.
What happens in the video?: In the clip, a journalist can be seen in conversation with Oli. The journalist highlighted that people were happy about Oli's resignation.
To this, Oli replied with a Hindi saying, ‘Kavi Khushi Kavi Gam’ (sometimes happiness and sometimes sadness). He added that there were both types of people who are happy and sad in such situations.
What we found: At first, we divided the video intro multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.
It led us to a video with similar frames dated 19 April 2017, posted on the official Facebook page of Communist Party of Nepal, UML.
We matched the frames and found striking similarities in the clothes worn by Oli as well as the interview host.
We looked further in our reverse image searches and found a video on YouTube uploaded by a channel named Dekhapadi Stories, with similar frames from 30 July 2016.
The video’s description noted PM Oli resigned from his post however, there was no sign of stress on his face.
We matched the frames and found that the viral clip’s portion was present in this YouTube video, 1:07 minutes onwards.
We looked up news reports from 2016 and found Oli resigned just before a parliamentary no-confidence vote, after losing support from key coalition partners.
The Maoists, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, withdrew support, and two other ruling parties also sided with the opposition, accusing Oli of failing to uphold commitments, reported The Hindu.
Oli’s current status: After the GenZ protests in Nepal turned violent, Oli fled his official residence by an army helicopter when his home in Balkot, Bhaktapur, was set on fire and the PM Office partially torched on 9 September, reported The Times of India.
As per reports, Oli spent nine days under army protection, believed to be sheltered at a barracks near Shivapuri forest, before moving to a private house in the Gundu area of Bhaktapur.
Conclusion: Oli’s old interview from 2016 has falsely been shared and linked to the recent protests in Nepal.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)