Dang, April 25:

General Secretary of the CPN (Ekata Kendra-Masal), Mohan Bikram Singh, today hailed the revival of the House of Representatives as a victory of the people’s movement.

He, however, hastened to add that it would be short-sighted to believe that the royal proclamation had met all objectives of the pro-democracy movement.

Singh, issuing a statement today, said steps should be taken to hand sovereignty back to the people and end the King’s control over the army. Election to constituent assembly is essential to solving the Maoists’ problem, the statement adds.

Giving the government in power at the time of the dissolution of the house continuity would not fulfil the movement’s objectives, the statement said, adding, an all-party government with the representation of all agitation forces should be formed after the house revival.

According to the statement, the all-party government would have three major duties: To take necessary steps to hand over sovereignty to the people and to end the King’s control over the army; to restore peace in the country through dialogue with the Maoists; and to hold election to the constituent assembly.

The King still exercises sovereign power and controls the army, the statement said, while emphasising the need to take concrete steps to limit the King’s role. “Election to constituent assembly is the best way to hand over sovereignty to the people,” the statement adds. The party also warned of future regressive steps of the King.