Kathmandu, July 22:

The idea that Pushpalal Shrestha, founding leader of the Communist Party of Nepal, had floated — that the democrats and the Leftist forces should launch a joint struggle against the monarchy— is still relevant as feudal forces are yet to be completely defeated, Leftist leaders said on his 30th death anniversary.

Highlighting Pushpalal’s contribution to the Nepali politics, general secretary of the CPN-ML and leader of the United Left Front C P Mainali said that Pushpalal always laid emphasis on making a working alliance between the Leftist and the democrats to overthrow monarchy and strengthen democracy.

He was addressing a programme jointly organised by the CPN-ML and CPN-United Marxist to commemorate Pushpalal.

“But Pushpalal’s call for the joint struggle against the Panchayet and monarchy did not materialise due to the given circumstances, as the Nepali Congress leadership was opposed to the idea of making an alliance with the communists,” Mainali said.

“Pushpalal opposed the 1950 Delhi Accord because he believed that democracy could not strengthen in Nepal because the pact was reached without completely overthrowing the Rana regime that ruled the country for over a century,” Mainali said.

Mainali said Pushpalal also campaigned for strengthening nationalism and called for maintaining Nepal’s independence and sovereignty without being affiliated with any in international power. He said one of the major contributions of Pushpalal was that he wrote a brief history of Nepali people’s struggle for freedom and democracy and organised peasants and labourers for their rights.

Addressing the function, vice president of the Pushpalal Memorial Academy and long time friend of Pushpalal, Laxmi Bhakta Upadhyay said that founder leader of the communist party was the first one to come up with an idea of holding the CA election.

He said that Pushpalal had raised the issue of constituent assembly, federalism, right to self-determination of the communities.

Pushpalal raised those issues during the first conference of the Communist Party of Nepal held in Calcutta way back in 1951, he said.