A group of activists has demanded that Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Renu Yadav be relieved of her position for her recent incendiary remarks.

Issuing a statement on Friday, the activists demanded that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba immediately relieve Yadav of her ministerial duties and start legal proceedings against her.

Minister Yadav, during a political event held in Gaur of Rautahat on January 19, had threatened opponents with targeted killing and made incendiary remarks.

As per the statement, at the same event, publicly available video clips show Minister Yadav threatening a repeat of the [2007] Gaur massacre by encircling and targeting Chandra Kant Raut (CK Raut), chair of the Janamat Party.

The statement is undersigned by Dr Kedar Narsingh KC, Charan Prasai, Ganesh Kumar Mandal, Sushil Pyakurel, Taranath Dahal, Indra Prasad Aryal, Mahamunishwar Acharya and Kanak Mani Dixit.

The activists have also raised questions over the government's inaction despite remarks by the minister with ‘the potential of sparking social unrest’.

“The fact that the government has failed to show interest or concern three full days after Minister Yadav’s harsh words became public knowledge raises the question whether she was expressing the government’s own point-of-view and attitude,” reads the statement.

“The first duty of any government is to give citizens a sense of the existence of rule of law, and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba must take the lead in fulfilling this responsibility. Accordingly, we demand that Prime Minister Deuba immediately relieve Minister Yadav of her duties and move to start legal proceedings against her.”

They have stated that the minister’s taking the ownership and publicly acknowledging her then party’s (Madhesi Janadhikar Forum) involvement in the Gaur massacre of March 21, 2007, as the perpetrators of that barbaric episode remain outside the purview of law, and impunity rages on in the country, is the result of the unchecked lack of accountability in the country.

“We are clear that a person who cannot hold the dignity of a minister’s position, demonstrates criminal mindset, and publicly concedes to acts of murder, is ineligible to retain any position of public responsibility,” the group said in the statement. “The fact that a sitting minister can threaten target killings, and also proudly take ownership of a massacre, is the result of the unchecked lack of accountability in the country.”