Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 25:

A delegation comprising representatives of university teachers’ bodies was not allowed to greet leaders of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML today on the occasion of Holi. Security men standing guard at the residence of NC president Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, turned the teachers away citing “the need to maintain

security at all costs”. The two leaders are under house arrest since February 1. The delegation comprised former and present office bearers of Nepal University Teachers Association (NUTA) and Tribhuvan University Teachers Association (TUTA) and Mahendra Sanskrit University (MSU). The team came back highly embarrassed at the rude behaviour of a sentinel keeping watch at NC chief Koirala’s residence in Maharajgunj.

“Whatever has happened today is highly condemnable. This kind of behaviour is not acceptable. The country belongs to all of us. And, we must get to live as Nepalis,” said Dhakal.

Police denied them even a brief meeting with the leaders, despite repeated pleas.

But the team’s efforts finally culminated in the teachers being able to send abir (vermilion) and written greetings to the leaders.

The same packet of abir was sent back by Nepal as greetings from him, but nothing was sent out by Koirala. When Nepal ventured out on the terrace of his house to greet the visitors, the guards promptly hustled him inside. The delegation was, however, allowed to meet Jana Morcha Nepal (JMN) leaders Amik Sherchan and Leelamani Pokharel, who are being detained at the Armed Police facility, Maharajgunj. The delegation also met Nepali Congress-Democratic leader and former minister Bal Krishna Khand held at the same facility, with security men demonstrating “exemplary behaviour.”