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Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Migrant Labourer Hung Upside Down And Beaten To Death In Punjab Factory
October 18, 2015
What is more punishable, a crime or to encourage one? What is more cruel to beat a man to death or to watch the ordeal and egg on the murderer.
In a shocking video, that will make us question the existence of humanity among us, a poor migrant labourer was tied up, hung upside down and brutally beaten to death inside a Punjab factory.
The original 34-minute video of the ordeal and many shorter clippings have since gone viral.
The video was shot by someone on the scene who apparently didn't do anything to stop the killing. During the video at times, you can hear a voice telling the assaulter to release the victim but noone physically intervenes.
Morever these pleas are lost among the Punjabi abuses hurled at the victim and his own screams that will surely haunt your conscience. One of the onlookers can be seen smiling uncontrollably as the victim, identified as Khankot resident Ram Singh, spun around when he was hung upside down from a pulley. The main accused has been identified as Jaspreet Singh and he is on the run.
Wife of deceased Raji said that her husband Ram worked in a foundry at Focal Point. She said that few days back there was a theft in the factory for which her husband was being blamed. "Some people even came to our house and threatened my husband," she said. "On Thursday, a few people came to our house in Khankot village in an car and forcibly took away my husband. They beat him mercilessly and threw him on road. Later his body was recovered from T Point at Mehta Road," she added.
One of the resident of Khankot, Navpreet Singh said that they saw some men coming into village and forcibly bundling Ram Singh into car and later they received information that his body was recovered. "We are horrified by the incident and want strict action against those responsible for his death," said Singh.
SHO, police station Mohkampura Narinder Kaur said that they had booked a case under section 302, 365 and 34 IPC against Jaspreet Singh and two unidentified persons. She said all the accused were absconding.
(With inputs from Yudhvir Rana, TNN)
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Hung upside down, migrant labourer mercilessly beaten to death
Yudhvir Rana, TNN | Oct 17, 2015, 10.11AM IST
Times Of India
A grab from the video that has gone viral.
AMRITSAR: A shocking video of a migrant laborer being mercilessly thrashed, even as some people smile at him and hurl abuses in Pujnabi, has surfaced . The man identified as Ram Singh apparently died of unbearable pain and injuries caused by the beating.
The 34 minutes video of Ram Singh being given thrashing with iron pipes shows him hanging from a pulley, apparently in the same factory where he worked. The incident was openly recorded by someone present at the spot and later parts of it were leaked. The main accused in the case has been identified as Jaspreet Singh.
Wife of deceased Raji said that her husband Ram worked in a foundry at Focal Point. She said that few days back there was a theft in the factory for which her husband was being blamed. "Some people even came to our house and threatened my husband," she said. "On Thursday, a few people came to our house in Khankot village in an car and forcibly took away my husband. They beat him mercilessly and threw him on road. Later his body was recovered from T Point at Mehta Road," she added.
One of the resident of Khankot, Navpreet Singh said that they saw some men coming into village and forcibly bundling Ram Singh into car and later they received information that his body was recovered. "We are horrified by the incident and want strict action against those responsible for his death," said Singh.
SHO, police station Mohkampura Narinder Kaur said that they had booked a case under section 302, 365 and 34 IPC against Jaspreet Singh and two unidentified persons. She said all the accused were absconding.
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Daily Mail UK
Migrant worker dies in India after being strung up by his hands and feet and beaten for 34 MINUTES by his boss while other workers filmed on mobiles... but did nothing
Shocking video purports to show a migrant worker being beaten to death
Filmed in northern India, he is seen hanging chained by his legs and arms
A group of men stand around him, while one strikes him with a bat
Police have confirmed they are investigating, and have identified suspects
By COREY CHARLTON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 15:38, 18 October 2015 | UPDATED: 18:29, 18 October 2015
A shocking video has surfaced of a migrant worker being beaten to death in India following allegations of workplace theft.
The film purports to show migrant worker Ram Singh held captive and hanging chained by his hands and feet after he was accused of stealing.
While most the people seen in the video stand by doing nothing, one man, armed with a bat, repeatedly strikes him while he cries out in pain.
The video purports to show Ram Singh being held captive during an in ordeal that ended in his death
The video purports to show Ram Singh being held captive during an in ordeal that ended in his death
The unedited version of the video, filmed in the city of Amritsar and which lasts for 34 minutes, is too distressing to publish.
It is not clear who filmed the brutal assault, but it was alleged to have been a punishment inflicted by an employer following an allegation of workplace theft.
The country's north is home to a large population of migrant workers, where human rights abuses are often reported among workers.
The Times of India reported the video was filmed in the factory where Ram Singh worked.
His wife explained there was a theft at the factory and her husband was blamed, with a group of men turning up at the couple's home to threaten him.
She said: 'On Thursday, a few people came to our house in Khankot village in a car and forcibly took away my husband.
'They beat him mercilessly and threw him on [the] road. Later his body was recovered.'
Her account of the events matched that given by a nearby resident, who also described seeing him being bundled into a car.
India Times reported bystanders can also be heard hurling abuse at him in Punjabi.
A spokesperson at the nearby police office confirmed it had opened a case report against three people, who had not yet been found.
The incident occurred at a factory in the city of Amritsar, northern India, which is famed for its Golden Temple (pictured)
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Video of Amritsar labourer’s brutal murder goes viral, no arrests yet
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Amritsar | Updated: Oct 18, 2015 10:38 IST
A video grab showing Amritsar factory worker Ram Singh being beaten up. (HT PHOTO)
A video of the brutal murder of a Nepalese migrant, who was hung upside down and attacked with iron rods, has gone viral, sending shockwaves among city residents.
Ram Singh, a cleaner at a factory in the Focal Point area, was found murdered on Friday. The police are yet to make any arrest in the case.
The video shows Ram Singh being brutally thrashed with iron rods by his assailants as he pleads them to let him go. Sources said the accused, who are believed to be the owners of the factory where Ram Singh worked, suspected his involvement in a theft case ago and wanted him to confess to it.
Police have booked three persons under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder),365 (kidnapping) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) on a complaint filed by Ram Singh’s wife Raji.
One of the accused has been identified as Jaspreet Singh, a resident of New Focal Point.
Raji has alleged that the accused had come to her house on Thursday and threatened her husband with dire consequences.
She said the accused then forcibly took away Ram Singh with them.
She said her husband’s body was found dumped at T-point Mehta Road.
ADCP City Harvinder Singh said the probe has revealed that the accused belonged to Nepal. But he had been working in Amritsar for the past 15 years. He said raids were being conducted at different places to arrest the accused.
Monday, October 19, 2015
பஞ்சாப் தொழிலாளி அநுபவித்து மாண்ட துயரின் பயங்கரம்!
On Camera, Factory Worker Hung Upside Down, Beaten To Death
Amritsar | Reported by Anand Kumar Patel, Edited by Divyanshu Dutta Roy | Updated: October 17, 2015 19:10 IST
On Camera, Factory Worker Hung Upside Down, Beaten To Death
Click to Play
The video shows the factory owner Jaspreet Singh and two others take turns to beat the man, laughing and hurling abuses in Punjabi.
AMRITSAR: Strung up by his legs and hands from the ceiling, upside down, and brutally beaten with an iron rod, a factory worker has died in an incident in Amritsar after its video went viral on social media.
The 47-minute video clip believed to be shot by one of the factory workers on a mobile phone shows the man, identified as Ram Singh, being thrashed mercilessly. Police are trying to find out who filmed it.
Ram, a native of Bihar, was accused of theft by the factory owner and taken away by his henchmen on Thursday. Ram's body was found the next day with injuries all over.
The video purportedly shows the factory owner Jaspreet Singh and two others take turns to beat the man, laughing and hurling abuses in Punjabi.
"They came for him at around 8 in the morning and took him away in a car. He thought they had come to take him to work," Ram's wife Rajji said.
Police have filed charges of murder against the factory owner and two others. All three are absconding.
"We will catch them soon," Narinder Kaur, the investigating officer, said.
Story First Published: October 17, 2015 18:57 IST
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Former LTTE Women's Political Wing Leader Thamilini Dies Of Cancer Featured
Former LTTE Women's Political Wing Leader Thamilini Dies Of Cancer Featured
Sunday, 18 October 2015 12:56
Subramaniam Sivakamy Alias ‘Col’ Thamilini, the ex-leader of the LTTE Women's Political Wing died of cancer at the Maharagama cancer hospital in the early hours of this morning, at the age of 43.
Thamilini, who joined the LTTE in 1991, she took part in some battles in her early years in the LTTE. Then she was transferred to the Political Division.
She surrendered to the security forces at the end of the war in 2009 with her family, disguised as a civilian. However, she was soon located and arrested.
She was ''rehabilitated'' and released in 2013.
After her release there were speculations that she may contest the Northern Provincial Council Elections, perhaps under the then governing UPFA ticket.
But its not materialized.
NEPAL FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT INDIA, TALK OVER FUEL CRISIS
NEPAL FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT INDIA, TALK OVER FUEL CRISIS
NewsmediaOct 16, 2015World News
“I am looking forward to my meeting with the external affairs minister of India”. Speaking in parliament after his election as the Prime Minister, Oli said the undeclared blockade was an act by India against the bilateral treaties and international covenants, and India should lift it. The Madhesis, along with several other small ethnic groups, also want the states to be larger and to be given more autonomy over local matters.
Nepal is sandwiched between India and China, which themselves have a festering border dispute. He said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will receive him and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar is to call on him.
Since the protests began in southern Nepal with the Madhesi ethnic group, neighboring Indian has restricted fuel supplies, causing severe shortages.
The main border point at Birgunj, which handles 60-70 percent of India-Nepal trade, remained closed Tuesday while protesters continued to rally on the Nepalese side.
The Nepal government had formed a panel headed by Thapa to take diplomatic initiatives with India to ensure normal supplies of fuel and other essential commodities.
Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli shakes hands with his predecessor Sushil Koirala after being administered the oath of office on Monday. “The visit will provide us an opportunity to discuss all issues of mutual concern as well as to review and further strengthen the India-Nepal relations”, Swarup added.
BIRGANJ, Nepal (AP) – The line of parked cargo trucks stretches at least 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the Nepalese border. As and when the disruptions have slightly eased we have tried to send supplies through.
Clarifying his point, he said of the nine crossing points for carrying commercial cargo on the border, five to six points have been constantly in use.
Giving the latest position on truck movement, he said 733 commercial vehicles moved through seven crossing points in the past 24 hours. Some have been waiting on the Indian side for 45 days.
He said nearly 2,500 trucks – 1,500-2,000 at Raxaul and 750 at Sanauli – were waiting to cross over.
“The China-Nepal Jilong border crossing that was damaged during the Nepal earthquake at present has reopened”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.
But India insists the problem is Nepal’s, and that Indian truck drivers won’t resume their deliveries because they are afraid to cross into the middle of a protest camp.
NewsmediaOct 16, 2015World News
“I am looking forward to my meeting with the external affairs minister of India”. Speaking in parliament after his election as the Prime Minister, Oli said the undeclared blockade was an act by India against the bilateral treaties and international covenants, and India should lift it. The Madhesis, along with several other small ethnic groups, also want the states to be larger and to be given more autonomy over local matters.
Nepal is sandwiched between India and China, which themselves have a festering border dispute. He said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will receive him and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar is to call on him.
Since the protests began in southern Nepal with the Madhesi ethnic group, neighboring Indian has restricted fuel supplies, causing severe shortages.
The main border point at Birgunj, which handles 60-70 percent of India-Nepal trade, remained closed Tuesday while protesters continued to rally on the Nepalese side.
The Nepal government had formed a panel headed by Thapa to take diplomatic initiatives with India to ensure normal supplies of fuel and other essential commodities.
Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli shakes hands with his predecessor Sushil Koirala after being administered the oath of office on Monday. “The visit will provide us an opportunity to discuss all issues of mutual concern as well as to review and further strengthen the India-Nepal relations”, Swarup added.
BIRGANJ, Nepal (AP) – The line of parked cargo trucks stretches at least 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the Nepalese border. As and when the disruptions have slightly eased we have tried to send supplies through.
Clarifying his point, he said of the nine crossing points for carrying commercial cargo on the border, five to six points have been constantly in use.
Giving the latest position on truck movement, he said 733 commercial vehicles moved through seven crossing points in the past 24 hours. Some have been waiting on the Indian side for 45 days.
He said nearly 2,500 trucks – 1,500-2,000 at Raxaul and 750 at Sanauli – were waiting to cross over.
“The China-Nepal Jilong border crossing that was damaged during the Nepal earthquake at present has reopened”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.
But India insists the problem is Nepal’s, and that Indian truck drivers won’t resume their deliveries because they are afraid to cross into the middle of a protest camp.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Nepal Rations Fuel as Political Crisis With India Worsens
ASIA PACIFIC
Nepal Rations Fuel as Political Crisis With India Worsens
By BHADRA SHARMA and NIDA NAJARSEPT. 28, 2015
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal began rationing fuel on Monday to cope with a worsening shortage brought on by continuing unrest over the country’s new Constitution and a dispute with neighboring India.
The country imports all of its fuel from India, but tanker trucks carrying fresh supplies have been blocked from crossing the border since late last week. “Things are completely out of order,” said Deepak Baral, a spokesman for the state-run Nepal Oil Corporation. “What we are doing now is just to continue emergency-only services.”
Mr. Baral said strict limits would be imposed on the sale of fuel to taxis, school buses, private cars, motorcycles and scooters. “Despite all these austerity measures, we will run out of fuel within the next 10 days,” he said.
Nepali officials blamed India for the shortage, saying it had ordered its border officials not to let the fuel trucks cross. But Indian officials said the disruption had been caused by mass protests in Nepal against the Constitution.
“It is an economic blockade of Nepal,” said Mahesh Basnet, Nepal’s industry minister. “India imposed it after some of its suggestions raised internally regarding the new Constitution were not addressed.” He added that the move was igniting “anti-India sentiment” in the country.
Demonstrators in Kathmandu shouted anti-India slogans on Monday to protest the fuel shortage.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs denied ordering any blockade, and Indian officials said sit-ins on the Nepalese side of the border by members of the Madhesi ethnic group, who have been protesting the Constitution for more than a month, were disrupting trade across the border.
“There is no blockade from our side,” Vikas Swarup, the spokesman for the ministry, wrote in an email on Monday.
India has expressed concern several times over the protests and violence in Nepal related to the new Constitution, which was adopted on Sept. 20. Concern has been met with anger in Kathmandu, where there is resistance to what is perceived to be Indian interference in Nepalese affairs.
More than 40 people were killed in western Nepal and its southern plains, home to the Madhesi and ethnic Tharu communities, during constitution-related protests this year. The groups have said the Constitution curtails their rights, and they demanded that Nepal’s political subdivisions be redrawn to afford them more political power.
Though the violence has ebbed, the protests appeared to have taken on a new form through sit-ins at border posts.
The impasse has underscored Nepal’s profound economic reliance on India, particularly after April’s devastating earthquake destroyed Nepal’s land trade routes with China.
About 1,000 trucks have been waiting on the Indian side of the border since Thursday, according to Kamlesh Kumar, an Indian customs official in Raxaul in Bihar State.
Hundreds of Madhesi protesters have staged sit-ins at border crossings that have lasted for days, said A. K. Singh, a senior official of the Sashastra Seema Bal, an Indian security force that oversees the India-Nepal border. Mr. Singh said it was impossible for India to intervene because the demonstrations were in Nepal.
Abhay Kumar, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, said truckers were afraid to enter Nepal because of security concerns. “A political solution has to be found to this issue,” Mr. Kumar said.
Nepali officials counter that the sit-ins took place in a “no man’s land” between Indian and Nepalese border posts and that Nepal needed the help of Indian border forces to clear them away.
Mr. Basnet, Nepal’s industry minister, said Indian customs officials had kept fuel trucks from crossing into Nepal even in areas unaffected by the protests and sit-ins, like the country’s far west.
The controversy comes after more than a year of friendly relations between Nepal and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited Nepal in 2014, and India pledged $1 billion for reconstruction after the earthquake.
On Friday, Nepali officials summoned India’s ambassador, Ranjit Rae, to the Foreign Ministry over the fuel crisis, and Nepal’s commerce and supplies minister went to Delhi on Monday to meet with officials.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala of Nepal visited Tharu and Madhesi areas over the weekend to meet with local leaders and security officials, a step many in Nepal had urged him to take during the violent protests. Nepali lawmakers have said concerns over the boundaries of provinces can be addressed through amendments to the Constitution.
In Kathmandu, far fewer cars than usual were on the roads. Drivers waited in long lines hoping to buy fuel, and many filling stations posted signs saying they were sold out.
“I have been waiting for fuel since yesterday morning, and still, 150 vehicles are ahead of me,” said Shukraraj Thing, a Kathmandu taxi driver waiting on Monday at a fuel pump.
“India always objects when Nepal tries to move ahead on its own,” he said. “Nepal should clear its roads connecting to China, instead of relying fully on India.”
Bhadra Sharma reported from Kathmandu, and Nida Najar from New Delhi.
Source: New York Times
Nepal Rations Fuel as Political Crisis With India Worsens
By BHADRA SHARMA and NIDA NAJARSEPT. 28, 2015
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal began rationing fuel on Monday to cope with a worsening shortage brought on by continuing unrest over the country’s new Constitution and a dispute with neighboring India.
The country imports all of its fuel from India, but tanker trucks carrying fresh supplies have been blocked from crossing the border since late last week. “Things are completely out of order,” said Deepak Baral, a spokesman for the state-run Nepal Oil Corporation. “What we are doing now is just to continue emergency-only services.”
Mr. Baral said strict limits would be imposed on the sale of fuel to taxis, school buses, private cars, motorcycles and scooters. “Despite all these austerity measures, we will run out of fuel within the next 10 days,” he said.
Nepali officials blamed India for the shortage, saying it had ordered its border officials not to let the fuel trucks cross. But Indian officials said the disruption had been caused by mass protests in Nepal against the Constitution.
“It is an economic blockade of Nepal,” said Mahesh Basnet, Nepal’s industry minister. “India imposed it after some of its suggestions raised internally regarding the new Constitution were not addressed.” He added that the move was igniting “anti-India sentiment” in the country.
Demonstrators in Kathmandu shouted anti-India slogans on Monday to protest the fuel shortage.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs denied ordering any blockade, and Indian officials said sit-ins on the Nepalese side of the border by members of the Madhesi ethnic group, who have been protesting the Constitution for more than a month, were disrupting trade across the border.
“There is no blockade from our side,” Vikas Swarup, the spokesman for the ministry, wrote in an email on Monday.
India has expressed concern several times over the protests and violence in Nepal related to the new Constitution, which was adopted on Sept. 20. Concern has been met with anger in Kathmandu, where there is resistance to what is perceived to be Indian interference in Nepalese affairs.
More than 40 people were killed in western Nepal and its southern plains, home to the Madhesi and ethnic Tharu communities, during constitution-related protests this year. The groups have said the Constitution curtails their rights, and they demanded that Nepal’s political subdivisions be redrawn to afford them more political power.
Though the violence has ebbed, the protests appeared to have taken on a new form through sit-ins at border posts.
The impasse has underscored Nepal’s profound economic reliance on India, particularly after April’s devastating earthquake destroyed Nepal’s land trade routes with China.
About 1,000 trucks have been waiting on the Indian side of the border since Thursday, according to Kamlesh Kumar, an Indian customs official in Raxaul in Bihar State.
Hundreds of Madhesi protesters have staged sit-ins at border crossings that have lasted for days, said A. K. Singh, a senior official of the Sashastra Seema Bal, an Indian security force that oversees the India-Nepal border. Mr. Singh said it was impossible for India to intervene because the demonstrations were in Nepal.
Abhay Kumar, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, said truckers were afraid to enter Nepal because of security concerns. “A political solution has to be found to this issue,” Mr. Kumar said.
Nepali officials counter that the sit-ins took place in a “no man’s land” between Indian and Nepalese border posts and that Nepal needed the help of Indian border forces to clear them away.
Mr. Basnet, Nepal’s industry minister, said Indian customs officials had kept fuel trucks from crossing into Nepal even in areas unaffected by the protests and sit-ins, like the country’s far west.
The controversy comes after more than a year of friendly relations between Nepal and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited Nepal in 2014, and India pledged $1 billion for reconstruction after the earthquake.
On Friday, Nepali officials summoned India’s ambassador, Ranjit Rae, to the Foreign Ministry over the fuel crisis, and Nepal’s commerce and supplies minister went to Delhi on Monday to meet with officials.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala of Nepal visited Tharu and Madhesi areas over the weekend to meet with local leaders and security officials, a step many in Nepal had urged him to take during the violent protests. Nepali lawmakers have said concerns over the boundaries of provinces can be addressed through amendments to the Constitution.
In Kathmandu, far fewer cars than usual were on the roads. Drivers waited in long lines hoping to buy fuel, and many filling stations posted signs saying they were sold out.
“I have been waiting for fuel since yesterday morning, and still, 150 vehicles are ahead of me,” said Shukraraj Thing, a Kathmandu taxi driver waiting on Monday at a fuel pump.
“India always objects when Nepal tries to move ahead on its own,” he said. “Nepal should clear its roads connecting to China, instead of relying fully on India.”
Bhadra Sharma reported from Kathmandu, and Nida Najar from New Delhi.
Source: New York Times
Nepal Ambassador: ‘Our Constitution better than (India’s)’
Nepal Ambassador: ‘Our Constitution better than (India’s)’
The Indian Express reported Wednesday that India has conveyed to Nepal’s leadership the seven amendments it wants in their Constitution to ensure it is acceptable to the Madhesis and Janjatis.
Written by Shubhajit Roy | New Delhi | Updated: September 24, 2015 11:33 am
Deep Kumar Upadhyay in New Delhi Wednesday. (Source: Express Photo by Shubhajit Roy)
With India raising concerns over Nepal’s newly promulgated Constitution not taking care of the Madhesis and Janjatis, Nepal’s ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay Wednesday said his country’s Constitution was the “most progressive in South Asia”, but added that it is an “open document which can be amended”.
His deputy in the Nepal embassy Krishna Prasad Dhakal, meanwhile, said, “Nepal’s Constitution is better than the Indian Constitution since it takes care of minorities as well as women.”
The Indian Express reported Wednesday that India has conveyed to Nepal’s leadership the seven amendments it wants in their Constitution to ensure it is acceptable to the Madhesis and Janjatis.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Upadhyay said that if the Indian side had conveyed the “suggestions or reservations or expectations, and I would have known timely (sic), this situation would have been avoided. This is not a good situation for both countries”.
“If before the public statements, if we had known (about India’s reservations), then something could have changed (sic),” the envoy said.
Praising Nepal’s Constitution, he said it is a “very progressive, very inclusive, participatory, gender equality and human rights friendly” document.
Dhakal, meanwhile, pointed out: “Nepal’s Constitution has both first-past-the-post system as well as proportional representation. This combination of the two ensures that minorities’ representation is taken care of.” He added that the Indian Constitution only ensures the first-past-the-post system.
Dhakal also said Nepal’s newly promulgated Constitution guarantees 33 per cent reservation for women, which is not the case with the Indian Constitution. “In these aspects, Nepal’s Constitution is better than the Indian Constitution, since it takes care of minorities as well as women,” Dhakal said.
Asked if the Constitution could be amended in the wake of protests and suggestions from India, Upadhyay said, “Why not? It is an open document that can be amended, it is just a beginning. But we have to follow certain procedures, the amendments have to be passed by two-thirds of the majority.”
Cautioning that “nothing can be done immediately”, he added, “The only thing that can happen is that there can be a political agreement or understanding between the parties.”
He said Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who was due to leave for New York Wednesday, has decided to cancel his trip and stay back to resolve the situation. “The three major political parties are talking to the Madhesi groups, Hill groups — all those who are dissatisfied — to find an end to the crisis. They will form a peace dialogue committee very soon.”
Describing the current situation in Nepal as “painful”, Upadhyay also refuted New Delhi’s assertion that the Constitution is not broad-based.
“Almost 90 per cent of members in the Constituent Assembly voted for the Constitution… that is the truth… what more widest possible consensus can you expect,” Upadhyay* said.*Nepal’s ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay
Dhakal added that the members included those from Madhes and Terai regions.
Meanwhile, K P Oli , chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Wednesday said they would not let “naturalised citizens” occupy head of state or any other key constitutional position.
“Under no circumstances shall we amend the constitution to pave the way for naturalised citizens to occupy the post of head of state, head of the government and constitutional bodies,” he said. Nepal has two categories of citizenship — by descent and naturalised — and Madhesis and Janjatis fall in the latter category. With Yubaraj Ghimire in Kathmandu
U.S., India urge restraint in Nepal constitutional debate
World | Tue Sep 15, 2015 6:36am BST Related: WORLD
U.S., India urge restraint in Nepal constitutional debate
WASHINGTON
The United States and India have called for security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests over the drawing up of a new constitution in Nepal and for citizens to avoid violence.
A statement from the U.S. State Department on Monday said the new constitution should have the broadest possible support and reflect fundamental rights such as gender equality and basic freedoms.
"We urge citizens to engage through peaceful, non-violent means, and call on the Nepali security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests," the statement said.
Nepal's large southern neighbour India also called for restraint after 30 people were killed since a draft constitution was unveiled last month.
Violent protests against the charter intensified in Nepal's southern plains last week with demonstrators attacking police who shot dead at least four people.
"Horrific violence has once again shaken Nepal's soul," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement overnight. "Whether the victims are Nepali citizens or government officials, the blood spilt in all the incidents was Nepalese."
Nepal, which emerged from civil war in 2006, is in the final stages of preparing a new constitution that would carve the country of 28 million people into seven federal provinces.
Many people in the southern plains bordering India oppose the plan which would split their narrow region and merge the pieces into larger provinces with other ethnic groups.
New Delhi said all political forces should show flexibility so that "any outstanding issues are addressed through dialogue and widest possible agreement, in an atmosphere free from violence."
Proponents of the new constitution say it is needed to increase political stability and boost economic development in the Himalayan nation, still reeling from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Hay)
U.S., India urge restraint in Nepal constitutional debate
WASHINGTON
The United States and India have called for security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests over the drawing up of a new constitution in Nepal and for citizens to avoid violence.
A statement from the U.S. State Department on Monday said the new constitution should have the broadest possible support and reflect fundamental rights such as gender equality and basic freedoms.
"We urge citizens to engage through peaceful, non-violent means, and call on the Nepali security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests," the statement said.
Nepal's large southern neighbour India also called for restraint after 30 people were killed since a draft constitution was unveiled last month.
Violent protests against the charter intensified in Nepal's southern plains last week with demonstrators attacking police who shot dead at least four people.
"Horrific violence has once again shaken Nepal's soul," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement overnight. "Whether the victims are Nepali citizens or government officials, the blood spilt in all the incidents was Nepalese."
Nepal, which emerged from civil war in 2006, is in the final stages of preparing a new constitution that would carve the country of 28 million people into seven federal provinces.
Many people in the southern plains bordering India oppose the plan which would split their narrow region and merge the pieces into larger provinces with other ethnic groups.
New Delhi said all political forces should show flexibility so that "any outstanding issues are addressed through dialogue and widest possible agreement, in an atmosphere free from violence."
Proponents of the new constitution say it is needed to increase political stability and boost economic development in the Himalayan nation, still reeling from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Any act that amounts to undermining Nepal’s sovereignty is not acceptable: Prachanda
Any act that amounts to undermining Nepal’s sovereignty is not acceptable: Prachanda
Written by Yubaraj Ghimire | Kathmandu | Published:September 23, 2015 1:05 am
Two Senior Communist leaders from Nepal — one a former orime minister, and another one aspiring for the top post — on Tuesday said the promulgation of the new Constitution in Nepal was a “matter of conscience and self-respect” for the Nepalese
people an assertion of the country’s sovereign right, and it was not a move directed against India.
Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal said: “Any act from anywhere that amounts to undermining our sovereignty is not acceptable to the Nepalese… By promulgating our own Constitution, we have only asserted of our sovereign rights, something that is not directed towards any country,” he added.
“We cannot bow down before anyone’s pressure or persuasion. It is a matter of our conscience and self-respect. This time Nepalese people have realised their 70-year-old dream of writing their own Constitution by themselves,” he said. The promulgation of the Constitution will not go against any country, he said. He was speaking at a reception hosted by the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), to celebrate the promulgation of the new Constitution on Sunday.
Over the last week, India has given a cold response to the promulgation of the Nepalese Constitution, and has given warnings that containers and truck drivers supplying goods to Nepal were fearing their safety, indicating that it may lead to some form of blockade. Prime Minister Modi’s special emissary S Jaishankar had conveyed India’s concern to Nepali leaders over the situation in the Madhes region, adjoining India, and asked to accommodate their view points on federalism and other issues before
the promulgation.
Perhaps under Indian pressure, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala met Mahanth Thakur, a prominent Madhes leader in the morning which was followed by meeting between Koirala, Oli and Prachanda on one side, and Bijay Gachedar, leader of the Forum Loktantrik, to explore peace ownership of the Constitution.-with PTI inputs
Written by Yubaraj Ghimire | Kathmandu | Published:September 23, 2015 1:05 am
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| Prachanda |
people an assertion of the country’s sovereign right, and it was not a move directed against India.
Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal said: “Any act from anywhere that amounts to undermining our sovereignty is not acceptable to the Nepalese… By promulgating our own Constitution, we have only asserted of our sovereign rights, something that is not directed towards any country,” he added.
“We cannot bow down before anyone’s pressure or persuasion. It is a matter of our conscience and self-respect. This time Nepalese people have realised their 70-year-old dream of writing their own Constitution by themselves,” he said. The promulgation of the Constitution will not go against any country, he said. He was speaking at a reception hosted by the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), to celebrate the promulgation of the new Constitution on Sunday.
Over the last week, India has given a cold response to the promulgation of the Nepalese Constitution, and has given warnings that containers and truck drivers supplying goods to Nepal were fearing their safety, indicating that it may lead to some form of blockade. Prime Minister Modi’s special emissary S Jaishankar had conveyed India’s concern to Nepali leaders over the situation in the Madhes region, adjoining India, and asked to accommodate their view points on federalism and other issues before
the promulgation.
Perhaps under Indian pressure, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala met Mahanth Thakur, a prominent Madhes leader in the morning which was followed by meeting between Koirala, Oli and Prachanda on one side, and Bijay Gachedar, leader of the Forum Loktantrik, to explore peace ownership of the Constitution.-with PTI inputs
Make seven changes to your Constitution: India tells Nepal
Make seven changes to your Constitution: India tells Nepal
These “amendments” have been conveyed to Nepal’s leadership by the Indian government through official channels Ranjit Rae, India’s ambassador to Nepal.
Upset over Nepal’s newly promulgated Constitution, New Delhi wants Kathmandu to carry out “seven amendments” to ensure it is acceptable to the Madhesis and Janjatis, South Block sources told The Indian Express Tuesday. These amendments are at the heart of the protests and violence in Nepal which have left at least 40 dead.
These “amendments” have been conveyed to Nepal’s leadership by the Indian government through official channels — Ranjit Rae, India’s ambassador to Nepal, is in New Delhi for consultations — after South Block reviewed the new Constitution.
The proposed amendments are:
(1)
* Article 63 (3) of the Interim Constitution provided electoral constituencies based on population, geography and special characteristics, “and in the case of Madhes on the basis of percentage of population”. Under this provision, Madhes, with more than 50 per cent of the population, got 50 per cent of seats in Parliament. The latter phrase has been omitted in Article 84 of the new Constitution. “It needs to be re-inserted so that Madhes continues to have electoral constituencies in proportion to its population,” a government source told The Indian Express.
(2)
* In Article 21 of the Interim Constitution, it was mentioned that various groups would have “the right to participate in state structures on the basis of principles of proportional inclusion”. In the new Constitution (Article 42), the word “proportional” has been dropped — Delhi wants it re-inserted.
(3)
* Article 283 of the Constitution states that only citizens by descent will be entitled to hold the posts of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament, Chairperson of National Assembly, Head of Province, Chief Minister, Speaker of Provincial Assembly and Chief of Security Bodies. This clause is seen as discriminatory for the large number of Madhesis who have acquired citizenship by birth or naturalisation. Delhi says this should be amended to include citizenship by birth or naturalisation.
(4)
* Article 86 of the new Constitution states that National Assembly will comprise 8 members from each of 7 States and 3 nominated members. Madhesi parties want representation in National Assembly to be based on population of the Provinces. This, Delhi says, should be done to address concerns.
(5)
* Five disputed districts of Kanchanpur, Kailali, Sunsari, Jhapa and Morang: Based on the majority of the population, these districts or parts of them may be included in the neighbouring Madhes Provinces.
(6)
* Article 154 of the Interim Constitution provided for delineation of electoral constituencies every 10 years. This has been increased to 20 years in Article 281 of the new Constitution. Echoing the Madhesi parties, India wants this restored to 10 years.
(7)
* Article 11(6) states that a foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen may acquire naturalised citizenship of Nepal as provided for in a federal law. Madhesi parties want acquisition of naturalised citizenship to be automatic on application. This also finds favour with Delhi.
====================
Sources said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up counterpart Sushil Koirala on August 25. He appealed to the government, all political parties and the people of Nepal to eschew violence and maintain social harmony.
“During the August 25 phone call, the PM told Koirala that the political leadership of Nepal should resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue with all political parties and through the process of widest possible consultation, including with the public… to strengthen the climate of trust and confidence across and between all sections of society, and arrive at solutions that reflect the will and accommodate the aspirations of all citizens of a richly diverse society within a united, peaceful, stable and prosperous Nepal,” an official said, quoting from a statement of the Ministry of External Affairs.
In the last one month, New Delhi repeatedly asked Kathmandu — this included sending Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar as the PM’s envoy — to accommodate concerns being expressed by Madhesis and Tharus but that did not happen.
Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad told The Indian Express Tuesday: “The situation seems quite difficult in Nepal. The triumvirate of the political parties should realise the enormity of the mistake committed by them. They, simply, will have to address the concerns of Madhesis and Janjatis.”
=================
Editor’s note:
MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup has reacted to the report: “The article is incorrect. Government of India has not handed over any list of specific Constitutional amendments or changes to the Government of Nepal. Without being prescriptive on specific clauses, and as already stated earlier, we continue to urge that issues on which there are differences should be resolved through dialogue in an atmosphere free from violence, and institutionalised in a manner that would enable broad-based
ownership and acceptance.”
The reporter replies: The Indian Express has confirmed from its sources that these amendments/changes were communicated by New Delhi to Kathmandu. It stands by the report.
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