By Our Reporter
Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala has been blamed for the Balkumari incident of Friday, in which two youths were killed in police action.
After Birendra Shah of Achham and Sujan Rawat of Dailekh were killed and the vehicle of Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala was set on fire in Balkumari of Patan, the government drew public criticism and was under pressure to settle the issue.
When the families of the deceased denied receiving the bodies for three days, the government had to form not only a high-level commission but also had to agree to declare the two as martyrs on Monday night.
Only after the relatives and the Home Ministry officials inked a four-point agreement were the bodies accepted and taken home by the families of the deceased youths.
A large number of youths preparing to sit for the EPS examinations staged a demonstration when a few of them were denied to fill up the forms. But when police used force and Minister Jwala appeared in sight, the situation worsened culminating in the killing of the two.
Earlier, the government formed a High-level Probe Commission headed by former judge Shekhar Paudel to investigate into the incident.
The Commission was formed by a Cabinet meeting held at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar on Monday.
The meeting designated former AIG of Nepal Police Arun B.C. as member and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Spokesperson of the Ministry Narayan Prasad Bhattarai as member-secretary of the commission.
The commission has been given one month to submit the report. Similarly, the Commission is given authority to investigate the role of the persons, officials and agencies related to the incident and recommend action for their mistakes.
Even Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha was criticised for the excessive use of force and the killing.
In a democracy, people have the right to protest, but when the two youths were killed, one of them by hitting on the chest, for their no fault in Balkumari, the public poured their rage on the Home Minister and police while the police blamed Minister Jwala for fueling the incident.
Likewise, Labour Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari has also been criticised for the decision of the EPS officials to deny the youth to take the language test.
Now after the loss of life, the government had taken action against the CDO and police chief of Lalitpur. But the fault is with the government and the way it is functioning. When the government has done nothing to create job opportunities in Nepal many youths fly overseas in search of jobs. But now the government has started killing the youth willing to go abroad, it was the public who expressed their ire over the incident.
The Balkumari incident has further tarnished the image of the government which had already been unpopular for its poor performance and some undemocratic decisions like extending the prohibited areas in Kathmandu. It has come as a New Year gift to Nepalis by the Maoist-led government.
Similarly, the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives has instructed the government to investigate the role of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and the Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport in the Balkumari incident.
After a discussion with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha in the meeting of the Committee held on Monday, the Committee instructed to investigate the role of two ministers in the incident.
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