Royal Ministers Can’t Go Abroad: Govt Tells SC

The government on Sunday told the Supreme Court that it has decided to bar ministers of the royal government led by King Gyanendra from going abroad.It was responding to a show cause notice issued by the apex court on its decision to bar former Finance Minister Roop Jyoti from leaving for the US.In a written reply, the Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet, Madhav Paudel, said the decision had been taken as the former ministers have been implicated in the report prepared by the Rayamajhi Commission that probed suppression of Jana Andolan-II. “Jyoti’s name figures in the Rayamajhi report and this is the reason why the government barred him from leaving the country,” the reply said.It added that until and unless the report is fully implemented and made public, and until the ministers prove their innocence, they will not be allowed to leave the country. The government, however, claimed that it does not mean to violate the rights of the persons implicated.