Lawmakers demand Gupta resign
- JP says non-Madhesi parties profiling him
A majority of lawmakers on Monday condemned in parliament Minister for Information and Communications Jay Prakash Prasad Gupta for making ‘secessionist’ remarks. They also demanded his resignation.
Gupta had last week said that Madhes could severe its ties with the state if demands of the region were not met.
Talk of the controversial remarks made its way into parliament a day after the President expressed his concern over what he termed “inflammatory statements given by different leaders of ruling parties and members of the Cabinet.”
Lawmakers from the ruling and the opposition parties termed Gupta’s statement as highly objectionable and intended to jeopardise national unity.
“The warning from a minister that the country will split is dangerous and unacceptable,” said Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Arjun Joshi. “The prime minister should not turn a deaf ear to such a statements against national sovereignty,” he added.
Rashtriya Janamorcha Party lawmaker Chitra Bahadur KC said Gupta should step down for commenting against the Nepali people. “He has no moral right to enjoy state facilities and honour after his seditious remarks,” KC said.
However, Madhesi lawmakers strongly defended their minister, arguing that major parties have a biased view of the Madhes.
“Parties have waged a war against the Madhes from the parliament today. We want this to be resolved from here so that the concerns of the Madhesi people are addressed,” said MJF-Ganatantrik leader Chandrika Prasad Yadav.
Minister Gupta, meanwhile, accused non-Madhesi parties of ‘plotting’ against him.
“The soiled but powerful monolithic political parties and their few leaders are plotting to find the next man after Sharat Singh Bhandari, behaving like a maneater, trying to eliminate Madhesis’ presence in the specific level,” Gupta said in a text message sent to reporters on Monday evening. “They are creating a narrow street where mass walking will be impossible.”
In a meeting with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Sunday, President Ram Baran Yadav had expressed concerns over statements delivered by party leaders and Cabinet members against national sovereignty, unity and goodwill among the Nepali people.
“The president did not pinpoint any single leader, but expressed serious concerns over the remarks that had created an illusion among the people,” President’s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal said.
Responding to the concerns, Bhattarai assured the President that he would talk to Gupta and ask him to refrain from making ‘anti-national’ remarks in the future, according to the PM’s Press Advisor, Ramrijan Yadav.
Posted on: 2012-02-14 09:39
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