Kathmandu, January 8:

Governement ministers and a retired army general said today the municipal elections would not be cancelled even if the Maoists unleashed big attacks during the polls.

“The municipal elections will not be stopped even if the Maoists carry out big attacks during the elections. Sporadic incidents of violence are normal at a time when the nation is passing through a difficult period,” said the retired chief of army staff of the Royal Nepalese Army, Satchit Shumsher Rana, at the Reporters’ Club. He said a provision of re-polling would be made in those polling stations where elections are disrupted.

Talking on the Rajparishad’s central regional conference that concluded on Friday, he said the “conference did not pass any anti-democratic resolutions”.

“The conference only urged the political parties not to chant undignified slogans against the monarchy,” he said, adding that the Maoists should lay down arms by holding

talks with the government if they wanted peace and were honest.

He, however, admitted that the Rajparishad came to a conclusion that Nepal’s diplomatic efforts to gain support of some friendly countries in favour of the King’s move failed.

He heavily came down on India for creating “instability in Nepal with a view to serving its political interest”. The retired general claimed the “Maoists were still operating from India and ferrying arms from the South despite the fact that India had deployed over 32,000 security personnel along the Nepal India borders.

Addressing the function, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Salim Miya Ansari said the civic polls would be held despite the sporadic incidents of violence.

He warned that the political parties would be isolated from the people if they chose to stay away from election, which, he claimed, was the “heart” of democracy.’About the 12-point understanding reached between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists on November 22, Ansari said it was a “tactic to come to power and an unnatural aliance which would short-live.

Assistant minister for Water Resources Binod Kumar Shah said the government had made adequate preparation for providing security during the elections.

He claimed this election would remain “historical,” as it would be held in a free and fair manner, unlike what happened in the past.