After lawmakers at a meeting of the committee on Tuesday accused the government of trying to use force to suppress protests, SAC Chairman Dil Bahadur Gharti directed Home Minister Bamdev Gautam to mobilize security forces cautiously.
"Security personnel should be deployed in a way as to help ease normal life hit by protests across the country," he said.
Speaking at the meeting, lawmaker Mahendra Bahadur Shahi said death of protestors in the ongoing protests may aggravate the already tensed situation. According to the home ministry, locals are currently staging protests in various 51 districts putting forth various demands.
He demanded that the government investigate into the killings of demonstrators in Surkhet district and punish security personnel found using excessive force on peaceful demonstrators.
Last week, two persons were killed and 50 injured as protests against the proposed provincial boundaries turned violent.
While the meeting of the committee was under way at Singha Durbar on Tuesday morning, a protestor in Saptari district was reportedly shot dead by security forces.
Another lawmaker Rabindra Pratap Shah said protests ahead of the promulgation of the new constitution have aggravated the situation. "The government should play an effective role in maintaining law and order," added he.
Refuting lawmakers' allegations that security personnel used excessive force on demonstrators, Home Minster Gautam said security forces used force only when it was extremely necessary. "An angry mob of protesters was all set to torch a lawmaker's house in Surkhet district. In that condition, security personnel were compelled to use force. Except in critical conditions, security forces have used minimal force as far as possible," said he.
After the remarks by Gautam, the committee has urged the people to press for their demands in a peaceful manner. The committee also said that discussions on the audio record of controversial remarks by some lawmakers' will be held on August 22. On Monday, Speaker Subas Nembang had directed the State Affairs Committee of parliament to investigate into the matter.
Home Minister Gautam had presented the audio record in parliament after lawmakers raised concerns over the controversial remarks by lawmakers Upendra Yadav, Amresh Kumar Singh and Nepal Shadbhavana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato in Kailali last week.
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