Siraha, May 29

Siraha was once a fertile ground for big political changes in the country, but surprisingly, no political party conducted any programme to mark Republic Day in the district today.

As per the directive of the federal government, local levels observed the day with a lot of activities.

However, the presence of political parties in the celebrations was insignificant.

It is learnt that most of the party leaders were outside the district to day. The absence of leaders left their cadres depressed.

Ruling Nepal Communist Party Province 2 In-charge Satya Narayan Mandal said that his party did not organise any function to mark Republic Day. Talking to the The Himalayan Times over phone, Mandal said he happened to be in Kathmandu.

Of the 17 local levels, NCP had won 10. The party had bagged victory in six provincial constituencies out of eight in the Provincial Assembly while it had secured victory in two constituencies of the four seats in the House of Representatives in the district.

Similarly, Nepali Congress did not mark Republic Day either in the district.

Siraha NC President Ram Chandra Yadav said his party had not organised any formal programme on the occasion.

Samajbadi Party-Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal have a strong vote base in the district, but they too stayed away from the activities. Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav was elected to the House of Representatives from Siraha.

Political analyst Dr Mahadev Sah said it was sad that parties had refrained from marking Republic day in the district. “Parties’ reluctance to mark Republic Day does not bode well for the nation and republicanism,” Sah cautioned.