Banke, June 18:

President of Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) Sher Bahadur Deuba today accused the Maoists of preventing leaders of other parties and security personnel from going to the rural areas in the Far West.

He said this while talking to journalists in Nepalgunj before returning to the capital after wrapping up his two-week visit to the Far West. “The Maoist cadres placed stones on the roads during my visit to the Far West,” he said.

“How could the constituent assembly (CA) polls be held when the Maoists are threatening people?” Deuba asked.

“Although Maoist chief Prachanda has been saying that the Maoists have improved their conduct, they are still not respecting the 12-point agreement,” Deuba said.

He urged Prachanda to keep his cadres in discipline. Stating that discussion are underway regarding unification of NC and NC-D, he said he would update himself on the latest development on the party unification front after returning to the capital.