Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
CoAS General Ashok Raj Sigdel has said that Nepal Army is not the government’s army and it will go by the wishes of Nepali people.
Fact
The statement is falsely attributed to CoAS General Sigdel.
Even as thousands of pro-monarchy supporters welcomed deposed King Gyanendra Shah upon his arrival in Kathmandu from Pokhara on March 9, an alleged statement by Nepal Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel that Nepal Army is not the government’s army and it will go by the wishes of people is going viral on social media platforms.
The alleged statement by Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Sigdel shared on social media platforms can be seen here, here & here.
Retired Major General of Indian Army Gagan Deep Bakshi shared a screenshot of an X post by one handle named Rajendra Poudel on his verified X page. The screenshot of the post carries a photo of Nepal Army Chief Sigdel and his purported statement. The alleged statement by the Army Chief reads, “Nepal Army has finally made its position clear. We are the soldiers of the nation but not the government. We are ready to abide by the people’s decision.” Along with the screenshot, General Bakshi has written, “Surprising statement by Nepal Army Chief. He said ‘we are a people’s army and will ultimately go by the wishes of the People.’ The people of Nepal seem to be fed up with the NEVER ending corruption and loot of the Maoist rulers. There is a ground swell of support for the King and for making Nepal a Hindu Kingdom again.”
The post has been liked by 1.3k users reposted by 322 people and 25 users have commented.
A TikTok user @jaynepal622 posted a video carrying a photo of General Sigdel and along with his viral statement reading, “Nepal Army has finally made its position clear. We are the soldiers of the nation but not the government. We are ready to abide by the people’s decision.”
The viral video posted on March 9 has garnered 28k likes, 294 users have shared it and 621 people have commented until the last count.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker looked up the official website of Nepal Army where it posts formal statements or any major decisions of the state army.
We also searched the mainstream media to check if the Nepal Army had issued any statement in the context of the former King’s planned welcome in Kathmandu. However, we couldn’t find any report confirming the claim about the Army Chief’s statement.
Further, we reached out to Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC, who is the spokesperson of Nepal Army, and enquired about the alleged statement by Nepal Army. He confirmed that the Nepal Army has not issued or disseminated such a statement and the viral statement is false.
Thus, our findings clearly showed that the Nepal Army has not issued such a statement saying that they are not the army of the government but of the people, and are ready to abide by the will of the people.
Conclusion
The purported statement by Nepal Army Chief that they are ready to follow the decision of the people and not the government is misleading.
Result: False
Sources
X (formerly Twitter) Maj Gen (Dr) GD Bakshi SM, VSM (retd), March 9, 2025
Instagram Maj Gen (Dr) GD Bakshi
Direct Contact With Nepal Army Spokesperson Gaurav Kumar KC.
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
