The Ujyalo Nepal Party has resumed its signature campaign in Nepal demanding the removal of the 5 percent value added tax (VAT) imposed on electricity bills, after suspending the drive following devastating floods in Rasuwa. Party secretary Kedar Khadka said the party decided to restart the campaign because of enthusiastic public participation. The party began collecting signatures on Bhadra 1, but paused the effort after the floods struck Rasuwa on Bhadra 10.
Campaign against electricity VAT resumes
The party’s campaign is focused on one demand: removing the 5 percent VAT charged on electricity bills. By restarting the signature drive, Ujyalo Nepal is renewing its effort to gather public support for that demand. The party has not announced in the information provided a new end date for the campaign or the number of signatures it hopes to collect.
Khadka said public participation had been enthusiastic, and that this response informed the decision to resume the drive. The party’s decision therefore follows both the pause caused by the floods and what it described as strong participation in the campaign. No further details about the locations or schedule of the restarted signature collection were provided.
Drive was suspended after Rasuwa floods
The signature campaign began on Bhadra 1. It was then suspended after devastating floods in Rasuwa on Bhadra 10. The party’s pause came as the floods drew attention to an emergency in the district. The information provided does not specify how long the campaign remained suspended or describe any particular relief activity by the party.
With the drive now resumed, the party is returning to its campaign against the tax. The sequence of events is clear: Ujyalo Nepal launched the signature effort, halted it after the floods, and has now restarted it, citing enthusiastic public participation. The party has not provided further details about the decision beyond the explanation given by Khadka.
Party renews its call for removal of the tax
The signature campaign gives the party a way to present its demand for the removal of the electricity VAT and seek public backing for it. Its stated position is that the 5 percent tax on electricity bills should be removed. The campaign’s resumption signals that the party intends to continue pursuing that demand after the interruption caused by the Rasuwa floods.
The development does not, by itself, indicate any change to the VAT or a government decision on the party’s demand. No response from the government or other political parties was included in the information available. The immediate focus is the restarted signature drive and the participation that Khadka said encouraged the party to continue.
Ujyalo Nepal has not disclosed the number of signatures collected before the suspension, how many have been gathered since the drive resumed, or when it expects to complete the campaign. For now, the party’s public message remains centered on ending the 5 percent VAT on electricity bills. Its signature effort, first launched on Bhadra 1 and paused after the Bhadra 10 floods in Rasuwa, is again underway.
