Maoist govt to sack minister in Nepal

Party leaders said parliamentary protests against land reforms minister Prabhu Sah were distracting from the peace process and had made his position untenable. Despite a legal clean chit, we have decided to recall Prabhu Sah from the government due to the controversy that is ongoing at the parliament, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said in a statement.We have taken this decision because the issue was deviating our focus from the fundamental issues of the peace process and constitution making and was unnecessarily wasting our time. Kashi Nath Tiwari, the president of Nepals Hindu Youth Association, was shot dead by three masked gunmen near his house in the southern town of Birgunj in June last year.Sah has been identified as a suspect in the killing but state prosecutors have refused to lodge a case against him, citing a lack of evidence. He has denied the allegations but opposition lawmakers have been obstructing parliament since Thursday, demanding his removal. Now the party has taken its decision, so Sah will immediately give up working as a minister in the government, said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarais press adviser Ram Rijhan Yadav.Opposition parties continued their protest at parliament despite the announcement, demanding the sacking of a second government minister accused of fomenting separatism in the south of the country. Defence Minister Sarat Singh Bhandari told a public function in Kathmandu last month that 22 districts in the Terai, near the Indian border, had the right to declare independence and become a separate state.The constitution allows the government to declare emergency and mobilise the army to foil the threats on the national sovereignty and doesnt allow a minister to make statement asserting that the districts of the Terai can split from Nepal.The defence minister who turned a blind eye towards the constitution has no moral ground to continue in the cabinet even for a minute, said opposition lawmaker Bhim Rawal, adding that protesters would continue to obstruct parliament until Bhandari was sacked.