In a letter sent to the Prime Minister´s Office (PMO), Gupta has demanded that the act be reviewed as per the four-point agreement reached between the UCPN (Maoist) and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) prior to the formation of the current government. [break]
“The recent verdict of the Supreme Court on the review of the Arms and Ammunition Act has also proved that the four-point agreement is relevant,” reads the letter sent by Minister Gupta to the PMO.
Gupta said that he also raised the issue at Sunday´s cabinet meeting. “I told the prime minister that the government must be serious on the issue. The prime minister assured that the cabinet would hold discussion in this regard at the next meeting,” added Gupta.
He said that after the implementation of the Special Security Plan in the Tarai, 133 Madhesi youths have lost their lives in extra-judicial killings by the security forces while 128 have been killed by armed outfits.
Gupta said that 790 Madhesis have been imprisoned in the two-and-half years after the implementation of the Special Security Plan.
The Madhes-based political parties have also been demanding a review of the Arms and Ammunition Act claiming that CDOs have been taking arbitrary decisions by misusing their authority.
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