First day at his job, Vice Prez Jha sparks protests after swearing in Hindi

There were minor demonstrations across the country against the newly elected Vice President Parmananda Jha for taking oath of office and secrecy in Hindi language during the President and Vice-Presidential swearing in ceremony at Shital Niwas Wednesday.

Student organisations affiliated with different parties staged demonstrations in various parts of the capital Thursday against Vice President Jha taking the oath of office in a "foreign language". They demanded that VP Jha publicly apologise for this.

Similarly, locals of Gajuri in Dhading district barred vehicles from plying on the road by imposing transportation strike Thursday. They were apparently enraged by Vice President Jha taking oath in Hindi.

They also said that this was a matter of grave concern which has put at risk the sovereignty of the country. Likewise, Chure Bhawar Ekata Samaj, a party which claims to work for the people of hilly origin living in the Terai, also obstructed traffic for more than an hours in the East-West highway passing through Saptari district.

The transportation strike had caused a long traffic snarl in the highway, causing a great problem for passengers.

In Butwal also local youths chanted slogans against the newly elected VP and blocked traffic in the major roads and intersections. There were reports of protests in Makwanpur, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Dadelhura and Tahahun also.

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, clad in the national custom, had taken the oath of office and secrecy in Nepali. However, when he administered the oath of office to his deputy Jha, who was clad in a dress many identify with Indian parliamentarians, the latter preferred to take it in Hindi, raising a eyebrows among the high-level dignitaries and political leaders present there.

According to an independent statistics, only 0.05 percent of people living in Terai speak Hindi. The majority of the people there speak Bhojpuri, Maithali, Avadhi and other local dialects. However, Madhesi leaders prefer to mostly speak in Hindi during the parliamentary proceedings saying that it is a "lingua franca" in Terai. nepalnews.com July 24 08