Call party to walk out of govt

Kathmandu, March 28:

Secretary of the CPN-UML Shankar Pokharel today said it would be better for the UML to pull back from the government unless the government-protected criminals were immediately brought to book.

Addressing a meeting after a protest rally organised here today to pay tributes to two UML workers allegedly killed by the Young Communist League (YCL) cadres, Pokharel said, “It won’t be sensible for the party to remain in the government if the Maoist cantonments, supported with the taxes paid by the people, continued to shelter criminals and looters.”

UML cadres Prachanda Thaiba and Raj Bahadur Malla were killed in Butwal and Surkhet, respectively, on Thursday.

He said the Unified CPN-Maoist was busy continuing its totalitarian, extremist and anarchic activities in the country, despite leading the government. “The Maoists are moving ahead in a fascist way intending to seize the state power,” he alleged. He also said the Maoist cadres were involved in hooliganism, murder and criminal activities after they were defeated in the Free Students Union polls. “We will continue our protests unless the criminals are punished,” he added.

All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) president Ram Kumari Jhankri said the Maoists were terrorising the people by misusing state power. “Murderers don’t have the right to lead the government. The Maoists will also disappear from the history like the Cambodian fascist Polpot,” she added. She further said the Maoist-affiliated ANNISU-R obstructed vote counting in Trihuvan University, Pokhara and Butwal after knowing that they would be defeated.

Former ANNFSU president Thakur Gaire said the Prime Minister should resign from the post instead of escaping to Europe. “The Maoists are social fascist and they are trying to end democratic system here,” he said, adding, “They are violating human rights and attacking media houses, journalists and followers of other political parties who disagree with them.”