Bhairahawa, April 4:

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Shyam Sundar Gupta said today that leaders of seven parties have reached an agreement to deploy the Nepali Army if attempts were made to disrupt the Constituent Assembly polls.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Reporters’ Club here, he said: “An agreement has been reached to deploy the army during the polls if killings and abductions continue.”

“The government will control the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) if the latter does not mend its ways by April 7,” he said.

“Even Maoist chief Prachanda will not be able to defer the polls,” he said, adding: “The Young Communist League is not an issue; the polls will be held at any cost.”

Claiming that the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) are not parties of the Madhesis, he said the MJF is like the Maoists.

Terming leaders of the TMDP ‘unsatisfied souls’, he said Hridayesh Tripathi and Bijay Kumar Gachhedar are “opportunists”.

The MJF and the TMDP will be gone after the polls, Gupta said.

The minister said the government had held talks with chairman of the Jwala Singh-led Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha through his party’s leader Bhogendra Thakur four days ago.

However, he did not say anything about the result of the talks. Minister Gupta termed the Goit-led JTMM an extremist force.