Kathmandu, June 3 :

Central committee member of the CPN-Maoist and commander of the Western Command of the People’s Army, Janardan Sharma “Prabhakar”, today said that the Maoists and the seven-party alliance, while striking the 12-point agreement, had agreed on reinstating the House

of Representative only for some days.

“While preparing the 12-point agreement, it was agreed that the House would not last longer than two days or a week.” Speaking at a programme at the Reporters’ Club, he said: “It appears now that the House will last till eternity.”

“The government is violating the norms of the understanding. We are just asking the government to make a prompt decision so as to save the country from another disaster.”

Prabhakar accused the government of lingering on the issue of parliament dissolution, saying it would not last long.

According to him, the present parliament should be dissolved because it does not include all sectors of the country. “We should go for a better, more inclusive body that can make all decisions until the Constituent Assembly (CA) takes shape.”

The government is delaying the talks, not the Maoists, he said, adding: “We are all ready. It does not mean we are in a hurry. We are concerned that pro-palace forces may hatch conspiracies against us if we continue to make delays in holding talks and announcing the date for the elections to the CA.”

“We are ready to let any international institution, including the UN, monitor our arms during the CA elections, but it should not be construed as laying down of arms. We will

lay down our arms only when all problems are solved and when the people order us to disarm.”

On the issue of the revival of local bodies, he said: “Letting the representatives of the Maoists’ local governments and parties run municipalities and village development committees could be a better option.” Amik Sherchan, who was reportedly involved in drafting the 12-point understanding, admitted that the agreement was made to make the House tenure “very short”. “The House will be dissolved as soon as its duty is complete.” The House should not last for more than two to three months.”

“The government is ready to do anything just to realise the goal of formation of the CA,” Minister of State for Labour and Transport Management Ramesh Lekhak said.

Former minister Yubraj Gyawali also said the dissolution of the parliament would make it difficult to hold the CA elections.