Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 6:

Protesting the February 1 Royal takeover and demanding restoration of democratic process, five agitating parties today took out separate rallies at Mangal Bazaar area of Patan.

Democratic forces in Nepal mark Chaitra 24 as the Victory Day of the People’s Movement which toppled the 30-year-old party-less Panchayet system and restored multiparty democracy in 1990. CPN-UML’s central people’s movement mobilisation committee, Yuvaraj Karki, in a press statement, said demonstrators took out a rally from Mangal Bazaar and marched through Mahapal and Kwalkhu before dispersing at Kumbheswor.

Karki said police arrested UML’s Lalitpur district acting secretary Hari Krishna Byanjankar, All Nepa national Freee Student Union’s central committee member Urmila Karki, district committee member Yagya Raj Pant, member of Free Student Union of Amrit Science College Bishnu Hari Tripathi and Umesh Bajgain during the rally.

Likewise, Nepali Congress and Janamorcha Nepal also took out separate rallies from Mangal Bazaar at different times to mark the 15th anniversary of the 1990 People’s Movement.

Police arrested Nepali Congress Lalitpur district committee secretary Pradip Mardan KC and Tej Limbu, Pradip Lama and Januka Lama of the Janamorcha Nepal from Mangal Bazaar area.

Meanwhile, a secret meeting of seven student unions affiliated to various parliamentary forces decided to organise a joint protest programme tomorrow against the Royal takeover.

The meeting, attended by leaders of the seven student unions, also decided to extend full support to the joint rally to be taken out by the five political parties on April 8.

They also called upon the people to show their solidarity to the five-party agitation.

The leaders also flayed the government for its decision to remove Ratna Park-based central office of ANNFSU. Last night, police arrested six students, including ANNFSU secretary of TU Central Campus, Chiranjivi Dhungana, breaking into the university’s boys hostel.