Nepalgunj, March 31:

The seven political parties and the Maoists staged a joint people’s demonstration in Banke today.

People from various indigenous communities and squatters comprised the majority of the participants. Thousands of demonstrators including party leaders, their workers and civilians took part in the demonstration. Some of the demonstrators were on bicycles while others were on foot. The demonstration began from Khajura and converged into a mass meeting at Mankhola after marching for seven kilometres. The organisers had stopped vehicles on the highway at Manpur, three kilometres west of Nepalgunj. Traffic on Nepalgunj-Gulariya section of the road was disrupted throughout the day after 1 pm. The demonstrators also burnt the effigy of autocracy.

District-level leaders of the seven parties and the Maoists addressed the assembly. They claimed that the rally and the mass meeting heralded a new chapter in the unity of the seven parties and the Maoists in the fight against autocracy. The assembly was organised by the Democratic People’s Mobilisation Committee Banke and coordinated by CPN-UML leader Bir Bahadur Oli.

Addressing the programme, NC (D) leader Nawaraj Thapa said the alliance between the Maoists and seven parties would continue until democracy was restored in the country.

The Banke-Bardiya in-charge of the Maoists, Athak, said the demonstration marked the beginning of a new democratic front. The crisis in the country would not be resolved unless Maoists and the parties shared opinions at a common forum, he said. Referring to the ongoing movement of the seven parties, he said the seven-party alliance is facing a problem of leadership. He urged the youths to act as a watchdog for their leadership.

Saying that the Maoists expelled Mani Thapa and Rabindra Shrestha for going against the party, Athak said the seven parties also needed to launch similar campaign to expel those who go against the parties.

Sudip, the chief of the Maoist’s Department of Agriculture and Cooperatives for Veri and Karnali zones, was also present during the demonstration.