Kathmandu, September 11:

Claiming that the existing media failed to raise the voices of the common people, the CPN-Maoist is planning to launch a massive media campaign.

As part of the campaign, the party has decided to re-launch Janadisha, a vernacular daily that ceased publication following a raid in its offices on November 26, 2001. Govinda Acharya, acting-president of the pro-Maoist Revolutionary Journalists’ Association, told this daily that Janadisha will hit the news-stands within the next two weeks and will be published from Kathmandu, Dhangadi, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and Butwal.

Takma KC, the widow of late Krishna Sen — the editor and the publisher of Janadisha, will be the publisher of the daily, while Acharya will become the editor.

He also said the party is preparing to publish an English fortnightly. “Our publications will promote loktantrik republic,” he said.

The party has decided to depute Maheswor Dahal, advisor to Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara, as the editor of the Sansleshan monthly — the sister publication of the Maoists’ mouthpiece Janadesh.

Executive chairman of Gorkhapatra Corporation and a member of the broadcasting department of the CPN-Maoist, Om Sharma, said his department would supply news to the electronic media. When underground, the party had run several mobile FM stations. Chief of the Broadcasting Department of the party, Janardan Sharma Pravakar, said the party is not operating any FM now.

“The party has handed over all equipment of FM stations to people to operate through cooperatives.” He claimed that the Janadesh team would run the Janadisha daily.