In contradiction to the commitment made in its election manifesto to never enforce shutdown, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party - Nepal (RPP-N) has enforced banda in different parts of the country on Wednesday.
The party has called enforced shutdown in different parts of the country in order to protest against what it termed as the police intervention and attack by cadres of the other parties on the party's protest during public opinion collection on the draft of the new constitution in different parts of the country on Tuesday. Cadres of the party including chairman Kamal Thapa and his biological brother and lawmaker Ganesh Thapa had tried to disrupt the opinion collection program in Hetauda on Tuesday. Ganesh Thapa had sustained injuries in the head when he was attacked by khukuri.
Party spokesperson Mohan Shrestha told Setopati that the shutdown has been enforced in all four districts in Mechi zone since early morning. Likewise, Sunsari, Morang, Siraha, Parsa and Makwanpur in the eastern and central parts of the country are also hugely affected. Banda has also been called on the all the nine districts in the far west region.
Shrestha further informed that the party will enforce banda in the capital Kathmandu from 4 pm today and torch rally will be organized across the country in the evening.
In the run up to the election of the second Constituent Assembly (CA) in November 2013, RPP-N had pledged in its election manifesto to never enforce banda. The party had massively publicized about this commitment even before issuing the manifesto.
Party chairman Kamal Thapa had also informed the public through his tweet that his "party's election manifestor will express commitment that the party will never resort to protest programs like shutdown."
When asked why the party so quickly broke the vow made to the people, chairman Thapa told Setopati that it was not the party's wish, rather a compulsion to call for the shutdown.
"The banda has been enforced by the party cadres at the regional level on their own initiative to protest against the attack on the agenda of Hindu state and huge public support behind it as well as the attack on the central level leaders of the party," Thapa said. "It's not our wish to enforce banda. It's a compulsion."
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.