Former prime minister and coordinator of the Naya Shakti Nepal Baburam Bhattarai, who was detained along with other fringe party leaders, was forcibly released from Police Club on Sunday evening after they refused to leave the camp.

They continued their sit-in also in police custody, refusing to leave the detention centre until their demands are met. 

Bhattarai, his spouse Hisila Yami of Naya Shakti Nepal, CPN Maoist Revolutionary leader CP Gajurel, lawmaker Ganga Chaudhary, former state minister for home affairs Rijwan Ansari, among leaders of five dozen fringe parties were earlier arrested for staging a sit-in outside the office of the Election Commission (EC) in the Capital on Sunday. 

Following the release, Bhattarai said the leaders were forced out of the Police Club in an inhumane manner.

He said the values of democracy was violated “by my former colleague and first PM of Republican Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal”.

“After 40 years of struggle today I realised that Nepal has not been established values of democracy, including rule of law and human rights,” Bhattarai said, vowing to continue sit-in protests in front of EC offices across the country on Monday.

They were protesting against the poll body’s decision not to provide election symbol to the parties not representing at Parliament as per the Local Level Election Act-2017. The agitating parties had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav on Thursday, demanding an amendment to the act within 48 hours of its submission. 

“We had to arrest former PM Bhattarai and his supporters as they staged a protest in the restrictive zone,” said SSP Chhabilal Joshi, adding, “He even captured our detention area and was adamant to leave until his demands are fulfilled.” 

Denouncing the government action, the Naya Shakti Nepal in a statement released on Sunday evening, has said the Local level Election Act-2017 is against the provision of Article 269 (70, 71) of the Constitution of Nepal which states the political parties should get election symbol on the basis of the party’s political ideology. 

“A peaceful protest was interrupted by Nepal Police with the detention of our party Chairman Bhattarai which is against the human rights and anti-democratic,” the party said in the statement, warning to step up their protest in a bid to achieve the election symbol. 

Similarly, Mohan Baidya, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Revolutionary Maoist), also condemned the detention of Bhattarai, his party’s central member and Chairman of Patriotic People’s Republican Front of Nepal CP Gajurel, central member Suresh Shrestha, Basanta Bogati, along with more than 48 protesters. In a statement, Baidya has also warned of stronger protests if their demands were not met.