Chitwan, December 25
Arjun Narsingh KC, an influential Nepali Congress leader and Minister for Urban Development, has said the government should declare Paush 27 a public holiday.
Paush 27 (January 11, 2017) is the birth anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. Shah led the campaign for the unification of Nepal by uniting princely states at a time when the British had established their rule in India.
Noting that the government had declared Christmas a national holiday, KC said it should declare Paush 27 a public holiday by recognising it as the National Unity Day.
Talking to journalists in Chitwan, Minister KC said he will press the government for declaration of Paush 27 as a National Unity Day and a public holiday.
Inspecting the office building of Nepal Press Union (Chitwan), he said political parties have no other option than coming together for implementation of the Constitution.
KCspeak
- The government has declared Christmas a public holiday. It should also declare Paush 27, birth anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, as National Unity Day and a public holiday
- Former King Gyanendra Shah is also a citizen of this country. He also has the right to free speech, free movement
- I will press the government to recognise Paush 27 as National Unity Day and declare it a public holiday
KC said: The three big parties — the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre — should sit together with Madheshi Morcha and find a way out of the crisis.
In another context, he said: Former King Gyanendra is also a citizen of this country. He has the right to free speech and movement. There’s no need to comment on minor things he does.
KC said this after Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who leads the Congress team in the government, demanded a fresh investigation into the June 19, 2001 royal massacre. Nidhi had also sought action against Former King Gyanendra Shah.