Kathmandu, July 31:

Members of Parliament (MPs) today expressed concern about the Maoists’ violent activities and said it might be a ploy to defer constituent assembly elections slated for November 22. Maoist MPs, however, said the political parties were trying to defame their party.

MP Harihar Dahal of the Nepali Congress (NC) sought a remedy to the problem created by the Maoist party cadres. “We have a solution if the king obstructs the elections. But what if Maoist cadres obstruct constituent assembly elections?” he said, while drawing the attention of the Speaker during the special session of the Parliament today. He said loktantra was not synonymous with coercion or intimidation. “How can we expect the polls to be fair and free in such a situation?” he queried.

Ganga Narayan Shrestha, a Maoist MP, criticised the government for holding dialogue with the “criminals” of the March 27 Gaur incident, where 27 Maoist cadres were killed by cadres of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF).

MP Chitra Bahadur KC of the Janamorcha Nepal criticised the Maoists for having double standards.