State of emergency for a short period only: Bista

from nepalnews
A senior government official has said the month-old state of emergency is for a short period only.

Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers Kirtinidhi Bista. (File photo)

According to Nepal Samacharpatra daily, addressing a function organised on the occasion of the International Women's Day Tuesday, vice chairman in the council of ministers, Kirtinidhi Bista said the state of emergency would not be longer than three months.

Article 115 (2) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990, says the proclamation or order of the state of emergency issued by His Majesty “shall be laid before a meeting of the House of Representatives for approval within three months from the date of issuance.”

The House of Representatives was dissolved in Nepal in May 2002.

Vice chairman Bista also claimed that nowhere in world the people would have felt as free and unaffected under the emergency rule as in Nepal. He further said the emergency was only directed against terrorism.

“The government is ready to hold parliamentary elections within three years and handover the power to the elected representatives if the political parties support it,” Bista added.

Meanwhile, three leading trade union organisations have said the government barred them from organizing rallies on the occasion of the 95th International Working Women’s Day Tuesday. In a joint statement, General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (DECONT) said the government barred them from organizing various programmes to mark the day though they had already obtained permission from the Kathmandu District Administration.