KATHMANDU, Dec 28: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an order preventing the implementation of the government's decision to declare a public holiday on the 1st day of the month of Phalgun as People's War Day. This date commemorates the initiation of the decade-long armed insurgency initiated by the then CPN (Maoist) with the aim of establishing a communist republic in Nepal.
In response to a petition filed by Gyanendra Raj Aran and Kalyan Budhathoki, whose father fell victim to the Maoist rebels during the conflict in Ramechhap, the court has halted the decision to designate Phalgun 1 as People's War Day with public holiday status.
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The division bench, comprising Justices Anand Mohan Bhattarai and Mahesh Sharma Paudel, issued this order on Friday. The writ petitioners argued that celebrating the national day on the day the Maoists launched the brutal war would be unjust to the thousands of conflict victims and the families of those who lost their lives.
The bench has directed the government not to approve leave on People's War Day in the future, emphasizing that the public holiday, which was introduced to mark the day without completing the peace process, only added to the suffering of the victims.
The decision to celebrate Phalgun 1 as People's War Day and grant it public holiday status was made by the government led by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal last year.
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