Election Commission robbed us of our soul, says Kamal Thapa

KATHMANDU: Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Kamal Thapa said the Election Commission robbed the party of its soul by deleting a section about Hindu state and monarchy off the party's statute.

Speaking at a function organised to make the party's election symbol cow public, Thapa also warned that the election-conducive environment would be foiled if the constitutional body failed to review its decision.

"If the environment for the polls is foiled," he said, "The Election Commission shall be held responsible for it."

Arguing that many communist parties including the CPN-UML and the CPN Maoist Centre have put in their charters agendas of establishing communist states, which is also against the constitutional provision, Thapa said the Commission should dare to delete sections from charters of those parties as well if the Friday decision was not corrected.

The Commission yesterday had decided to remove the portion that advocates Hindu state and monarchy from the RPP statute claiming the sections contradicted constitutional provisions of republican order and secularism.

The leader said it was political parties but not the Commission to decide which agendas a party would take to the people during polls.

Thapa, however, said today that his party was committed to the constitutional provision and would raise its agendas by using the rights including the freedom of expression and association provided by the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the leader appealed to his party cadres to actively take part in the protest programmes fixed by the party's Central Committee meeting against the Election Commission this morning.

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Other leaders speaking at the function also objected to the Commission's decision.