Four arrested for throwing stones at vehicle carrying Chief Minister of State 5 Shankar Pokharel

Rupandehi: A vehicle carrying Chief Minister of State 5 Shankar Pokharel has been stoned. Chief Minister Pokharel, who was returning from Kathmandu to Butwal, the provisional capital of the state, was stoned in his vehicle.

The glass of the Chief Minister's car has been shattered due to stones. Police have arrested four people, including Mukti Poudel, central vice-president of the Nepal Students' Union, on charges of throwing stones.

The Nepali Congress (NC) on Sunday declared a bandh in Butwal to protest the decision to shift the permanent capital of five states to Dang. Locals, including the Nepali Congress, have been protesting after a proposal to move the provincial capital from Butwal was tabled in the state assembly.

On Sunday, the Rupendehi District Committee of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-M) also said that the party's decision to shift the capital of five provinces to Dang was unconstitutional. Leaders and cadres of the CPN (Maoist) have also come out in protest after the district committee of the CPN (Maoist) opposed the move. A meeting of the state assembly is being held on Saturday for the process of passing the state capital and name proposal.

The local administration has issued a restraining order in Butwal on Saturday as the protesting political parties, civic leaders and others announced a program to prevent the state assembly members from entering the state assembly on Saturday. Butwal's situation has become more tense after the ruling party also stood against the decision.