KATHMANDU, August 5

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam on Wednesday told the Parliament that police had no intention of using force against Dalit protesters yesterday.

Responding to lawmakers’ query, DPM Gautam said Dalis protesters led by Parshuram Ramtel began blocking transport and vandalising vehicles at Baneshwor. This forced the police to resort to minimum use of force.

He said 12 people were injured in the incident and they were undergoing treatment at different health centres.

DPM Gautam handed over a video footage of the incident to Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang and said the government would form a probe committee to investigate the incident. He regretted the incident and said the guilty would be punished.

After DPM Gautam’s speech in Parliament on Wednesday, lawmaker Man Bahadur Bishwakarma said police used unnecessary force against protesters and the two DSPs who were commanding the force yesterday should be punished for their action. He also said the government should immediately release those arrested yesterday and provide free medical treatment to the injured.

Lawmakers Shiv Kumari Gotame (Sarki)  and Sant Kumar Darai  also demanded action against police officers responsible for the atrocity yesterday.

She also demanded that the government provide free medical treatment to the injured protestors. Lawmaker Bidur Prasad Sapkota said that President Ram Baran Yadav had exceeded his brief when he issued instructions to political leaders on political issues recently.

During zero hour, some lawmakers demanded that the government declare eight districts of Tarai from Saptari to Parsa as drought-hit districts.

Sushil Kumar Shrestha said the government must fully implement the Mathema report to fix anomalies in medical education. He also said

that the future of 317 medical students of Janaki Medical College was uncertain and the government must think about them. Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang cancelled a scheduled debate on the budget.

UML and UCPN-M lawmakers are opposing the budget saying Nepali Congress ministers allocated more budget to their districts.

Minister of Law, Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs Narahari Acharya tabled some new bills in the Parliament.