Nepal PM Balen Shah says won't remove sunglasses in Parliament. Here's why

Nepal PM Balen Shah will appear in Parliament on Wednesday wearing dark sunglasses after submitting a medical report. The exemption fits the Speaker's medical exception but keeps alive criticism of his authoritative and personality-based political image.Nepal PM Balen Shah is likely to be present in the Parliament, but in his black sunglasses. (Image: File)Summoned by the Speaker, Nepal Prime Minister Balendra 'Balen' Shah will appear in Parliament on Wednesday (August 26). However, lawmakers who got the PM to attend the proceedings, won't be able to see eye to eye with him. The reason: Balen Shah will keep his dark sunglasses on even in Parliament.Use of dark glasses was prohibited in Parliament by Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal but Balen Shah has found a way around.Nepali media outlets reported on Tuesday that an ophthalmologist had suggested that Balen Shah wear dark sunglasses to protect his eye and use eyedrops.Shah had gone for a check-up at the Birendra Military Hospital in Chhauni and was reviewed by Associate Professor Lieutenant Colonel Dr Sachit Dhakal, according to The Kathmandu Post. The doctor diagnosed him with light sensitivity and dry eyes, prescribing regular eye drops and protective dark glasses, reported Nepal News.The news outlets reported that the PMO forwarded Balen Shah's medical report and doctors' recommendations to the Federal Parliament Secretariat. Shah is scheduled to take direct questions from lawmakers and the report of the medical examination comes just a day ahead of that.The dark glasses have been part of the persona of Balen Shah, a rapper-turned-politician, who is heading a majority government after years in Nepal. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which fielded Shah, has a near two-thirds majority.Shah was propelled to the PM's post after Gen Z protesters overthrew the KP Sharma Oli government in September 2025. While the youngsters see the dark glasses among Balen Shah's defiance, the Nepal PM's critics see it as a mark of his arrogance.Shah has come in for criticism for his personality-based politics and undermining of democratic institutions and diplomatic norms. Even as he completed the first 150 days as PM, Shah seems to have lost much of his political shine.Experts have slammed Shah for his confrontational attitude and concentrating power in his hands.Balen Shah is "alienating constituencies that any government eventually needs: the media, the intelligentsia, the opposition parties and key foreign partners", wrote Biswas Baral, the former Editor of The Kathmandu Post, for The Diplomat in June.In a recent column in The Kathmandu Times, analyst Samar SJB Rana asked whether Nepal, after overthrowing one political order, risks replacing it with something equally dependent on one personality. "Nepal wants no Caesar," he wrote.The reference was to Julius Caesar, a symbol of absolute power and autocracy.His refusal to take off the shades, despite providing a medical certificate, will be seen as another instance of his defiance.Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal had on August 6 told political parties to inform their lawmakers that dark sunglasses wouldn't be permitted during Parliament proceedings except for medical reasons, reported The Kathmandu Post.Balen Shah, forced by Nepal's lawmakers, will be attending House proceedings but he will keep wearing his trademark sunglasses.- EndsPublished By: Avinash KateelPublished On: Aug 25, 2026 18:23 IST