KATHMANDU, May 11: Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Aman Lal Modi has said that Mukesh Kayastha is a martyr.

Kayastha who was injured in police firing in the Second People's Movement in 2006 died Wednesday evening. He was in a vegetative state since that time and was known as the "living martyr of the Second People's Movement."

Addressing a condolence program here today, Minister Modi reiterated that Kayastha would be declared a martyr and urged people not to doubt it.

“The nation is mourning his death. The people of Kavre should be proud of the contribution made by Kayastha to the struggle for democracy,” he said and urged the Kayastha family to turn grief into strength.

Stating that there are few 'living martyrs' in history and Mukesh is one of them, Minister Modi said, “Mukesh fought death from bed for 18 years. Special citizens die 'special'.”

On the occasion, demands were presented to the Minister on behalf of the Mukesh Foundation, calling for declaring Mukesh as a martyr and constructing a hospital in his name.

Mukesh's body is kept on the premises of Banepa Municipality's office for paying tributes to him. Federal MPs from Kavrepalanchok district Surya Man Dong and Gokul Prasad Baskota, province assembly members Kanchan Chandra Bade and Laxman Lamsal, Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Dinesh Bhattarai, and political leaders, cadres based in the district and locals were present on the occasion.

Kayastha was 32. He could not walk and talk, and was confined to his home ever since he was injured in the movement.

Following complications in his health, Kayastha was admitted to the Banepa-based Scheer Memorial Hospital, where he breathed his last, said Hira Sharma, Chairperson of the Mukesh Foundation.

Mukesh got injured during the second People's Movement at Teendobato, Kavre on April 9, 2006. He was shot by a bullet in his left temple. The kayasthas' only son Mukesh from Banepa Municipality-8 in Kavrepalanchok district was 15 years old when he was injured. He was an eighth grader at Bidhya Sagar School in Banepa.

In 2078 BS, the Democracy Warriors Respect Committee led by the then Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali honored him as a 'Warrior of Democracy' and appreciated his contribution to the people's movement. He was also known as the 'Living Martyr'. 

The government waived loans of Rs 700,000 taken by his family. It had also been providing Rs 15,000 per month for his medication, and had managed a health worker for his care.

He completely stopped talking for one year. He was being fed through a tube. The Kayastha family did not lose their hopes on him. "Mukesh's right hand and both legs were immobile since he fell sick. We had a hope that he could be cured," said Mukesh's father Krishna Man.

Lately, Dr Gopal Raman, who works at the Mediciti Hospital, was attending to him. Four youths from Kavrepalanchok were killed in the second people’s movement and 40 others were injured.

It is said the body will be cremated at Ugratirtha, Banepa, in the evening today. Before this, his body would be taken around the town.

 
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