Kathmandu, January 20:

Commenting on yesterday’s Siraha shootout, Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narsingh KC said the Maoists had no right to carry weapons when they had already entered the legislative parliament and would be joining the interim government in a few days.

“If the Maoist leaders require security protection it should be provided by the state and their cadres should not carry arms,” KC said when asked to comment on yesterday’s incident in Lahan of Siraha district.

NC leader KC said the Lahan incident violated the peace treaty signed between the government and the Maoists on November 21.

He also urged the government to hold talks with the Jaya Krishna Goit-led Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, which has raised arms recently.

“The movement launched by the JTMM is very dangerous from regional point of view,” he said.