Breaking News Hub

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Hindi belt, the Terai plains along the Indo-Nepal border, erupted in fresh violence on Saturday as protesters called a 48-hour
general strike in support of embattled Vice-President Paramanada Jha, who has been ordered by the Supreme Court to take his oath of office and secrecy once again by Sunday or be removed.

Sunsari, Siraha, Dhanusha and Nawalparasi districts were hard-hit by the bandh spearheaded by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum party with cadres clashing with police. Janakpur, a major pilgrim destination in Nepal famed for its Janaki temple, remained tense as protesters pelted police with stones and were baton-charged. More than a dozen people were hurt with police reportedly arrested two demonstrators from hospital.

The violence came after an obscure armed group exploded a bomb near Jha's residence on Friday night, injuring a woman. The Kirat Janabadi Workers' Party, an underground organisation that is demanding a Kirat state in eastern Nepal, said it had engineered the attack and warned more would follow if Jha refused to take his oath of office and secrecy in Nepali.

Alarmed at the simmering violence from both the pro- and anti-Hindi groups, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Saturday rushed to Jha's residence to condemn the bomb attack and promise stern action against the perpetrators. Nepal has also been urging Jha to end the row – that began last year when the latter took his oath in Hindi – by being sworn in again in Nepali.

So far, Jha has refused to toe the line and on Friday, filed two petitions against the controversial Supreme Court verdict that has slapped the ultimatum on him, calling it biased and unconstitutional.

The three-month-old Nepal government is in its worst dilemma over the language row. On Sunday, it faces the option of either removing Jha and facing the wrath of the Hindi belt or continuing with status quo and angering the anti-Hindi hill community.

Jha however says neither the court nor the government has the power to sack him. According to him, the interim constitution authorises his impeachment only if two-third of Nepal's 601-member parliament vote for the motion.