Kathmandu, May 8, 2008

The alleged kidnapping of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (A) president Anandidevi Singh is becoming mysterious with each passing day.

NSP (A) leader Sarita Giri alleged that the party’s general secretary Shyam Sunder Gupta, who is also Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister, is behind the kidnapping. She said Gupta and his associates kidnapped Annandidevi two days ago with a motive to secure validity of his faction of the party in the Election Commission.

Gupta and Khushi Lal Mandal are acting as leading rival factions of the NSP (A) for quite some time. Mandal and Giri had also met the PM and sought the release of Ananadidevi. Minister Gupta, on the other hand, denied the charges. “Allegation against me is totally false. I have the majority in the party. Why should I kidnap her?” Gupta told this daily, adding Anandidevi’s maternal relatives had taken her to Patna for treatment.

Gupta said Anandidevi had sent a letter to the PM and the EC saying she delegated power to him for taking necessary decisions on behalf of the party while she was away. “I have a CC of that letter. What I know is that she is coming in two weeks and will file a lawsuit against Mandal and Giri for keeping her isolated and administering her medicines without her approval,” he added. But Gupta admitted to offering food to Anandidevi when she was brought to his residence two days ago. “After that, I saw her relatives taking her from my residence in a vehicle,” he said. DIG Ramesh Shrestha said police had been searching for Anadidevi.

LDT to award Peace Prize worth $50,000

Kathmandu, May 8, 2008

The Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) has announced to award Peace Award worth $50,000 to an international personality contributing to peace, said Dr Keshar Man Shakya, vicepresident of the trust. In an interaction organised by Reporters’ Club here today, Dr Shakya said the trust had started consultation with Norway-based Nobel Peace Organisation about the process to conduct the prestigious award.

The trust had already established a reserve fund of 10 million rupees three years ago and has been adding one million rupees every year since then. “The trust believes that the Peace Award will be the second prestigious award after Nobel Peace award,” Dr Shakya said adding that the award would help promote Lumbini as a fountain of peace. “Awarding prestigious peace award from the land of Gautam Buddha’s birth place will prove to be a novel idea to popularise the country and Lumbini,” he told this daily.

On the occasion, Lumbini-based Buddhist monk and the writer of Nepal-Peace Is At hand, Thay Huyen Dieu, also known as Dr. Lam, lauded political leaders’ conciliatory approach and urged all to continue the sprit of understanding, forgiveness and dialogue.