Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Supremeo Prachanda has expressed his firm belief in people’s power that can defeat both domestic and foreign reactionaries that stand on the way to the overall transformation of the Nepali society. He was speaking on Monday afternoon 14 January at a joint mass meeting held by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) in Kathmandu. He sharply criticized the Nepali Congress leaders who have still been defending monarchy in subtle ways. Addressing the mass, Prachanda said, "the existing Nepal Army cultured and nourished by feudal monarchy needs to be rectified. What Army Chief Rukmangud Katwal said regarding the impossibility of integrating the Maoist fighters into the national army is part of politics." He meant that the Nepal Army, previously known as Royal Nepal Army, performed political mission of the Royal Palace.
Prachanda reiterated that integration of People’s Liberation Army into the national army is an integral part of the 12-point understanding and all other agreements signed between the Maoist insurgents and other six parties. Speaking against the spirit of all those agreements serves the interests of feudals and reactionaries unable to accept state restructuring and federal republic referred to by all as New Nepal. Prachanda also stressed that Nepalis needed to be more watchful against the conspiracies being hatched by royalists and foreign interventionists against the Constituent Assembly polls scheduled to be held on 10 April 2008.
Previously, Nepal Army Chief Rukmangud Katuwal had said that it was impossible to integrate Maoist fighters into the national army. Although such a political statement by the army chief was never expected, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and UML leader Madhav Nepal supported the chief’s argument. At today’s mass meeting, Prachanda was countering this anti-agreement saying.
However, more suprisingly, UML Party General Secretary Madhav Nepal defended the Army Chief and spent almost all the time of his speech on arguing that Maoists were against the Constituent Assembly polls and that they were afraid of going to people for votes. Madhav Nepal blamed on Maoist leaders that they were still trying to escape Constituent Assembly polls due to fear of embarrassing defeat.
Nepali Congress leader Suajata Koirala, who is the daughter of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, was opposed harshly by the public for her nomination as a minister. She has defended monarchy for long. Youth workers of her own party chanted slogans against her for her pro-monarchy stand. In Nepal, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and his chief assisting hands within his party the Nepali Congress have been criticized for their secret collaboration with the feudal monarchist. Nepali Congress district leaders based in Dhading, Gorkha, Kavre, Chitwan, Jajarkot and other districts say that it would be utterly wrong to collaborate with monarchists for fear of leftists’ victory in Nepal. They argue that they should accept even leftists’ victory if leftists stand in favor of change and peace.
While the joint mass meeting held at the Open Theatre ended with the speech of pro-monarchy Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, a socket bomb exploded near Bir Hospital, near 30 meters away from the mass meeting stage. Minor injuries were reported according to hospital sources. Some suspects were arrested in front of this reporter. The police did not immediately have any additional information to speak about the explosion. Some of those who came back from the mass meeting spot suspected that royalists and those within the Nepali Congress Party might be involved in this instigating activity.
Although the joint mass rallies and mass meeting were intended to kick off the Constituent Assembly poll campaign from the capital, the program spirit did not appear collective at all. All party leaders spoke against one another. Especially Nepali Congress and UML were extremely hostile to Maoists while Maoists indirectly characterized them as those serving domestic feudalism and foreign interventionism. Independent observers and analysts were not very pleased with this divided spirit.
Earlier, all the seven parties participating in this mass meeting held separate rallies of their own parties from different corners of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.
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