Kathmandu, Apr 1:
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) on Tuesday announced a two-week-long protest starting April 11 against the arrest of deposed prime minister and party chair K P Sharma Oli.
The former prime minister and then home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday for their alleged involvement in suppressing last year’s Gen Z protest, which left 76 people dead. The arrests came after the newly formed Balendra Shah government decided to implement the report of the probe commission into the Gen Z protests in its first cabinet meeting.
The CPN-UML in a statement said it would launch demonstrations in all municipalities on April 11 and stage similar protests across all wards on April 16. It also said it would organise protests throughout all seven provincial capitals on April 20 and a grand protest rally here on April 25 to show its strength.
The party’s latest protest announcement comes after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an interim relief to Oli and Lekhak.
The CPN-UML termed the arrests by the newly-elected Balen government as illegal, unconstitutional and aimed at taking revenge. Urging the government to immediately release the two leaders, the party said it would fight political and legal battles both on the streets and in parliament.
Former chief district officer (CDO) of Kathmandu Chhabi Rijal was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in the crackdown of the Gen Z.
Rijal, who was named in the list of high officials responsible for suppressing the Gen Z movement, was arrested from his residence in Kathmandu, according to Nepal police.