Kathmandu, March 2:

The Nepali Congress (NC) today decided that the party leadership should not consider including Maoists in the interim government until and unless the latter live up to their commitment to peaceful politics.

“Our decision made today is that the party leadership should not let the Maoists be taken into the government until and unless they live up to the commitments expressed in all pronoucements, including the 12-point agreement,” Central Working Committe (CWC) member of the NC Sunil Bhandari told The Himalayan Times after a lengthy CWC meeting held at the party headquarters.

The meeting chaired by the party’s vice-president, Sushil Koirala, was convened amid intensifying demands from the Maoists that they should be included in the government.

The demand to join the government has been compounded by another demand to declare the date for elections to a constitutent assembly.

“The party leaders are insisting on honest implementation of all accords signed between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists,” Bhandari said.

The meeting will resume tomorrow under Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at Baluwatar.

Meanwhile, addressing a programme at Reporters’ Club today, NC central member Arjun Narshingh KC said: “Forming an interim government would be meaningless when Maoists are still walking around with weapons and the commoners are having to face intimidation.”

“An interim government should have been formed by now. But taking the present situation into consideration, I would suggest that the government should not take a decision in haste to form an interim government,” KC said.

He said that the Seven-Party Alliance has been taking wrong decisions time and again under the influence of “unknown pressure,” just to ensure that the decisions are made, irrespective of their consequences.

“Armed Maoists have been threatening people in the country. They are not even allowing any mass meeting. This is not a democratic move,” he said.

He also criticised the government for allowing the Maoist lawmakers to enter Singha Durbar with arms. “We have laws that prevent people from carrying guns. But the Maoists are carrying them and also telling the parliament that they are above the laws. How can we accept them in the government?” he said, adding that the government may allow the NC and the UML to keep guns if they want.

CPN-UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari ssaid that Maoists have to stop the exhibition of arms and extortion before the people welcome them as part of the government. “The Maoists’ behaviour has raised suspicion among people regarding the nature of the government that is going to be formed with their presence,” he said.