Himalayan News Service

Birgunj, July 1:

The CPN-UML general secretary, Madhav Kumar Nepal, today said the present crisis was born out of a struggle between the people, the King and the Maoists. Speaking at a press conference, he said only a constitution drafted by a Constituent Assembly can pave the way for resolving the crisis. Restoration of democracy is the only objective of the ongoing street agitation launched by political parties, Nepal said, adding that the agitation will come to an end once demo-cracy is restored. “The movement is not guided by personal gains,” he said.

Stating that support for the republican setup was on the rise, Nepal warned that the movement could prove to be harmful to the monarchy. “People have been putting pressure on the parties to adopt a republican setup as one of their agendas, but they have not decided on the matter yet,” he said, adding that the movement for the republican setup could follow if the palace continued to act as a dominant force. Stating that a movement should not adopt extreme strategies in the beginning, he said that was why parties were adopting a softer strategy at present. “There will be no coalition with the Maoists unless they give up violence,” he said.