Monday, September 22, 2008

Maoists intensify land reform campaign with mass movement and Land Reform Commission



BY UPENDRA LAMICHHANE of Kantipur

BARA, Sept 22 - Not even a week after Maoist minister Matrika Yadav retook a huge swathe of land and house belonging to several locals of Siraha, discarding Home Minister Bamdev Gautam's directives to vacate it on September 15, local Maoist activists here in Bara district captured seven bigha land belonging to former king Gyanendra's elder sister Shanti Singh at Simara-2, Sunday.

Subsequently, Maoist cadres invited landless squatters over loud speaker and distributed land to them.

In the presence of their district committee member Jivan Kalikote and VDC secretary Bishnu Prasad Rijal, the Maoists gave away 10 dhur land to each squatter family.

"I came here after hearing on the loudspeaker that land was being distributed," said an elated Hira Tamang of Amalekhgunj- 2. "I plan to erect my house here."

On Sunday, the Maoist cadres distributed the seized land to 61 such families of Pathalaiya, Simara and Amalekhgunj. They said the process would go ahead until all the land was given.

The land was under control of the Maoist-close All Nepal Transportation Workers' Union for the last three years.

I resigned for PM's ease: Matrika

Maoist leader Matrika Yadav said Sunday that he chose to quit the ministerial portfolio in order to make it easy for the prime minister to run the government.

Speaking at a programme at Haripur of Sarlahi, he also said he would never shun revolution and relationship with people.

He also claimed that his Siraha land grab was right in every way.

"While the centre of people's war was Rolpa, the centre for land reforms movement will be Siraha," he said while revealing that he would rather be active in such campaigns now onward.

On Friday, the then minister for Land Reforms and Management Yadav resigned from his post after he was severely chastised by partners of the coalition government and the party itself. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had even said the party would take action against Yadav as the latter's act was against party policy.

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