KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday addressed the nation, highlighting that holding local level elections on the set date was a must for the Constitution implementation and calling disgruntled Madhes-centric parties to accept the polls as an opportunity to promote their agendas.

The Prime Minister, however, failed to offer anything new to the parties which have been repeatedly warning of launching stern protests, boycotting the polls and even obstructing the election activities in the Madhes region.

Dahal instead spent almost half time of his 22-minute speech to list out some developmental achievements of the government and future plans.

'Poll announcement a compulsion'

The government did not have any option but to announce polls as it was under the constitutional obligation to hold local, provincial and federal polls by January 2018, he explained, adding holding elections after May, during the monsoon, would be practically impossible.

"...Via this address, I want to ensure them [the Madhesi parties] that government is committed to broaden the acceptability of Constitution and strengthen the national unity -- simultaneously  through elections and amendment to the Constitution," he said.

While claiming that the government had wished to amend the Constitution to take agitating Madhes-based parties on board the election process before announcing the polls, Dahal blamed the main opposition CPN-UML, though without mentioning its name, for blocking discussions on the amendment bill at the House for three months.

Dahal claimed that his government was seriously working to ensure passage of the amendment to ensure rights of the Madhesi people among other groups which had been historically suppressed.

He said the government would take polls preparations and amendment process simultaneously.

'Use polls as an opportunity'

The Prime Minister viewed that the Madhes-centric parties should use the elections as an opportunity to raise their issues further and get them established.

He said the government was seriously working to increase the number of local bodies in the Madhes region on the basis of population density as demanded by the Madhes-centric parties.

"Development and the government are on citizens' doorsteps in the form of ballot boxes," Dahal said, claiming development works would prosper after the elections.

He hoped that political parties would compete for development and service to people after the elections.

"Election is the greatest celebration of democracy," the PM said as he concluded his televised address that he delivered in the presence of his Cabinet colleagues, senior government officials and journalists, "Therefore, I call all the whole nation to participate in this grand celebration without any doubt, suspicious and fear, but with enthusiasm."

Fear tales retold

Like in most of his public speeches, the Maoist leader claimed conspiracies were being hatched to revert achievements secured by various democratic movements and called people to stay alert against such attempts.

"The traditional ruling class of this nation does not like republicanism, federalism and secularism," he said, "Conspiracies are being planned in dark rooms to revert these achievements."

Meanwhile, Dahal said the government would not tolerate any secessionist or extremist activities, assuring that the government would ensure smooth security arrangements in all parts of the nation for the polls.

He also said the government was committed to concluding the peace process; therefore, it extended the terms of Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.

More light shed on no-loadshedding

Highlighting the end of the power outage in major cities of the nation including Kathmandu Valley as one of the most significant achievements of his government, PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was committed to promoting development works.

"Now the history of development in Nepal will be categorised into before and after the end of loadshedding."

"People had supposed that the end of loadshedding is a miracle. But, I say it is not a miracle in itself, just a beginning," Dahal said before describing some of the plans in the infrastructural development sector.

Other development discussions

Dahal also announced that construction works for the ambitious Kathmandu-Nijgadh fast track would begin soon with the mobilisation of domestic investment while the Melamchi Water Supply Project was at its last phase to supply pure drinking water to Kathmandu denizens.

He, therefore, said that the nation would get a facelift within a couple of years.

Dahal claimed changing the Chief Executive Office of the National Reconstruction Authority was a message that the government would not tolerate any negligence and delays in the post-earthquake reconstruction works.

He said his commitment to expedite development in Nepal had not been budged by contrasting pressures from various sides of the nation.

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