The National Human Rights Commission has asked Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Renu Yadav to refrain from making provocative statements.

Summoning her to the commission on Thursday, the chairperson and members of the commission directed her to be mindful before making any statements that could incite violence and disrupt social harmony. Minister Yadav, during a political rally held by her party, Janata Samajwadi Party, in Gaur of Rautahat on January 19, had threatened her opponents with targeted killings.

She had threatened a repeat of the [2007] Gaur massacre by encircling and targeting Chandra Kant Raut (CK Raut), the chairman of the Janamat Party, who has been carrying out vigilante activities in the Tarai.

On March 21, 2007, as many as 26 cadres of the then Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist and an unidentified individual were massacred by the cadres of the then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Nepal. Yadav was a leader of the party when the incident happened.

The cadres of her party had chased the Maoist cadres in Gaur and beaten them to death. But even after 15 years, no action has been taken against those responsible for the massacre.

Yadav had made the incendiary statement in Rautahat after workers of the Janamat Party staged a demonstration against her.

“The chairperson and members of the commission said it was wrong for the minister of the country to make provocative remarks that could instigate violence and directed her not to repeat such things in the future,” reads a statement issued by the commission. “Minister Yadav said though she went out of way while delivering the speech it was not targeted at anyone and she didn’t mean to instigate violence. She said she will be mindful in the future.”

Human rights activists and civil society members have been demanding Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to sack Yadav. However, he is yet to make his position clear on the issue. A group of activists on January 21 demanded that Yadav be relieved of her position for her incendiary remarks.

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

A Nepali Congress leader in Rautahat has also filed a complaint at the District Police Office accusing the minister of promoting communal violence.