GOVT. DEBARS PRESIDENT FROM ATTENDNG BIJAYA DASHAMI RELIGIOUS RITUAL

GOVT. PREVENTS PRESIDENT FROM ATTENDING DASAIN FUNCTION

Kathmandu, 3 Oct.: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav isn’t attending the 12-year Khadga Siddhi Jatra at Bhuteshwor Sattal in front of Maru Sattal I the capital on Bjaya Dashami, Kantipur reports.
The president was invited to attend the ritual.
According to press advisor Rajendra Dahal, government told the president not to attend the function.
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GUDPAK STORE OWNERS FREED

Kathmandu, 3 Oct.: The Kathmandu District Administration Office today released proprietors of two Gundpak stores, who had been jailed for playing with public health by selling toxic sweetmeat, on bail. Proprietors of New Road-based Corner Fresh Gundpak — Manendra Lala Maske aka Narendra and his mother Madan Baba Maske — walked free after depositing bail of Rs 1 million and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. Krishna Gundpak proprietor Milan Lal Shrestha aka Milan Shrestha, also walked after depositing Rs 50,000, The Himalayan Times reports.

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) had found toxic elements in Gundpak sold through the shops. Manendra Lal has appealed for another lab test, describing the previous lab test as unsatisfactory. An official said CDO can ask for retest. Lokendra Agrawal of Kanhaiya Ghee and Manager of Anmol Sweets Suman Thapa, jailed on similar charges, have already walked free on bail.
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PM PUTS LAWMAKER AMNESTY PROPOSAL ON HOLD
Kathmandu, 3 Oct.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai today put on hold the proposal to grant amnesty to UCPN-Maoist Constituent Assembly member Balkrishna Dhungel, a murder convict, a source said on condition of anomymity, Ananta Raj Luitel reports in The Himalayan Times.

According to the source, the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 8.30 am was scheduled to take up the proposal that recommends the President to grant amnesty to Dhungel by invoking Article 151 of the Interim Constitution.

The Supreme Court had slapped a 20-year jail term on Dhungel for the murder of Ujjan Kumar Shrestha of Okhaldhunga on January 3 last year.

The lawmaker has neither surrendered to the court nor has he filed a review petition challening his conviction.

Refuting media reports, Ganga Shrestha, personal secretary of the Prime Minister, said the amnesty push has never a Cabinet agenda, while another source held that the government has been waiting for suitable time to carry the proposal forward.

On June 10, then home minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara had moved the proposal to the Cabinet, seeking amnesty to 23 people, including Dhungel, arguing that granting clemency is in line with with the Comprehensive Peace Accord and the Interim Constitution. But the Cabinet had stopped short of endorsing the proposal in the wake of criticism from the human rights fraternity and the lawyers’ community.

“The government is waiting for a favourable situation to give the agenda a push and the PM’s move may be a part of that strategy,” the source said. “The pending proposal can sail through the Cabinet if the PM so desires,” he added.

Human rights activist Charan Prasai praised the PM for dropping the controversial agenda, but said the PM may be tempted to push for amnesty anytime. “Pardoning Dhungel means giving impunity a boost. The government will come under fire from the human rights community if it wields its powers to grant pardon to Dhungel,” Prasai said.
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