Kathmandu, October 2:

Leaders and diplomats said today that the path of non-violence shown by the late Mahatma Gandhi can only bring lasting peace in the country.

At a programme organised to commemorate 139th birth anniversary of Gandhi, Nepali Congress general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi urged the CPN-Maoist and armed groups, including in Tarai, to renounce violence.

Nidhi said the NC and the UML had also took up arms in the past, but soon they abandoned the arms, as it could not bring permanent solution. It was because through peaceful means, the CPN-Maoist won power, he said. “Peace won through non-violent means can only bring long-term solution.”

NC vice president Ram Chandra Poudel echoed Nidhi. He said the CPN-Maoist should take all the stakeholders into confidence to resolve the issue of army integration.

CPN-UML general secretary Jhala Nath Khanal said the world could learn a lot from the life of Gandhi and his struggle to uplift the women and marginalised communities.

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Jay Prakash Prasad Gupta said a thorough understanding of Gandhi’s thoughts on the clash of civilisation would enable the country to successfully manage the ongoing conflicts. Gupta was of the view that inclusion and compromise could be the best solution to the ongoing conflicts.

Tarai Madhes Democratic Party leader Hridayesh Tripathi said Gandhi and his follower Nelson Mandela waged peaceful struggles in their countries where the rulers abided by the rule of law but the peaceful crusaders did not win their battles easily in a fascist rule.

UNMIN chief Ian Martin said Nepal needed to bring the peace process to its logical end and ensure the return of displaced people to their homes, make public the whereabouts of disappeared people and empower the marginalised people.

At the programme, Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood said Gandhi was a new kind of revolutionary, who won independence through peaceful means. He said the peace process in Nepal would succeed only when the socio-economic issues gained prominence in line with political issues.

Speaking at another function organised by Takshashila Academy today, NC leader and CA member Narahari Acharya said Gandhi’s concept on decentralised governing system could be worthwhile at a time when Nepal is going for a federal system of governance.