KATHMANDU, Nov 10: While maintaining that fresh election was his party´s ´roadmap´ to end the current political deadlock, Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala has challenged the ruling UCPN (Maoist) to compete with them in the elections.
Koirala also announced that NC, along with other opposition parties, will take to the streets to exert pressure on the current Baburam Bhattarai-led government for the formation of national consensus government.
He said the election government was a must for holding free and fair election before May, 2013 and protests were the only way force the Bhattarai-led government out of office.
"There is no other alternative [to election]. To chose any other alternative is to go down the path of downfall ," Koirala said while addressing a mass rally organized in the capital to mark the 97th birth anniversary of supreme leader Ganesh Man Singh on Friday. "Our aim is election. Please do contest the election and compete. I want to challenge you from here."
While brushing aside the allegations of the Maoists that NC did not have ´roadmap´ to resolve the deadlock, Koirala argued that fresh election was the roadmap of the NC to bail the country out of the current political impasse. "We want to go to the election at the earliest. Fresh election should be held no later than May," he said.
Thousands of NC supporters had first converged at Shanti Batika to offer their respect to the statute of late Ganesh Man Singh and walked past the Sahid Gate and New Road before converging again at Basantapur Durbar Square. "The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly was a political coup of Baburam Bhattarai. Everyone in the country has understood this," Koirala further said.
Addressing the rally, NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel, General Secretaries Prakash Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, treasurer Chitra Lekha Yadav and CWC members Gopal Man Singh and Bhim Bahadur Tamang, among others, argued since the Maoists were bent on imposing a ´totalitarian rule´ by staying put in powers there was no alternative to oust the current government through street protests.
They also warned the Maoists not to dream of establishing totalitarian rule in the country as that would push them to the same fate as that of ousted king Gyanendra Shah.
On the occasion, senior leader Deuba argued that since the Maoists were out in planned manner to establish totalitarian rule by making all democratic institutional dysfunctional there was no alternative except to launch a stringent protests to oust the current government.
"We have two options now: Either surrender or go for a movement. NC is never a party that chooses to surrender," he said adding that they should fully focus on intensifying the movement.
Deuba, who has been rooting for revival of the CA as the best alternative to resolve the deadlock, argued he still believes that CA revival would be best option. He argued that they could go for fresh parliamentary election after promulgating a constitution through the revived CA while leaving contentious issues of the statute to be settled by an elected parliament.
Likewise, Vice President Paudel announced that NC would eventually force the Prime Minister Bhattarai to step down from the post to pave way for the national consensus government through street protests.
"Today the ousted king Gyanendra has started making public speech. The Maoists and Madhes-based parties are to be blamed for encouraging regressive forces to raise their heads," he added.
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