Can a person who caused 5,000 deaths become the prime minister?
The Supreme Court (SC) has received a writ case filed against Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the prime minister and head of the CPN (Maoist Center).
On January 15, 2020, Prime Minister Dahal stated that he would accept responsibility for only 5,000 of the 17,000 individuals murdered in the armed conflict during a program held in Tundikhel in honor of the Maghi festival.
The identical remark made by PM Dahal was used as support in a Supreme Court appeal brought by victims of the ten-year conflict Kalyan Budhathoki, Vinod Sapkota, Kamala Rai Timalsena, Humraj Dawadi, and others.
Prime Minister Dahal said, “Perhaps there are more questions for me here also because I am here as the chief guest, as the leader of the party which led the fight for the identity and rights of all the oppressed castes, classes, regions, and communities yesterday,” in a program held on the occasion of the Maghi festival in Tundikhel on January 1, 2076. Perhaps a lot of questions have been raised by friends here. I probably won’t be able to respond to each one individually right now, but I do have a few things to say. All I’m trying to do is fix the data. This is not the truth, what is the truth, friends and esteemed individuals? Let me explain.The fact is that 12,000 people were slain by the feudal kings of yesterday. I’ll accept being held accountable for 5,000 fatalities. Yet to hold me accountable for 12,000 of the 17,000 fatalities is unfair. I have always said that I am to blame for both the good and bad things that occurred during the conflict. I have no plans to flee from it.
After filing the petition, petitioner Budhathoki spoke with the media and reported that 26 people had filed two cases. He said that he had filed a petition citing grave acts against the law throughout the fight. “26 people have registered two writ petitions,” he declared. In response to the Maoists’ terrible crimes against the law committed during the previous battle, we filed a writ petition.
Similar to this, the writ petitioner Shivkumar Budhathoki said that two cases were brought by eight people and 17 family members of Maoist victims. He questioned, “Should Prime Minister Dahal not be brought to court since he has indicated that he will assume the responsibility for 5,000 deaths? He said that the Maoists had stolen all of his belongings, and that he had now filed a lawsuit requesting the restitution of his stuff because the Maoists’ leader is now the prime minister.
He questioned whether former prime minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Nepal Communist Party general secretary Netra Bikram Chand, and other Maoist leaders still had to return the property they had stolen in the past despite signing the peace agreement and pledging to uphold the law, saying they hoped to receive justice from the court. He added that the victims must have justice and that someone who has killed at least 5,000 people is ineligible to serve as Prime Minister of the nation.
“Among the petitioners, there are eight people who are conflict victims because their property was looted, and there are 17 people whose family members or close relatives were killed by the Maoists,” he said. One of the groups of individuals for which PM Dahal publicly accepted blame was our people. They ransacked my entire possessions, including my residence. He (PM Dahal) has not returned my stuff yet. The point is, when he is prime minister, he must at least return everything. I’ve sought the restitution of my stolen goods. Should he be held accountable or not for acknowledging his role in 5,000 fatalities?
This is a significant query. We are confident that the court will rule in our favor. I’m also stating this to leaders like Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Netra Bikram Chand. They stole my property; shouldn’t they give it back? Can the nation’s prime minister be someone who has killed 5,000 people? Justice must be served to the victims.
