Kathmandu, November 17:

A powerful republican front is being formed to fight against the monarchy and other forces that are backing the king, deputy prime minister and chief of the Jana Morcha Nepal, Amik Sherchan, said today.

“The front includes all parties favouring a republican system. Nobody can stop us from making a front to bring the change that we had promised during the Jana Andolan,” said Sherchan.

Addressing a mass meeting of the Jana Morcha Nepal, he said: “ As people know now who backs the king and why the peace process is being delayed, it has become easier for them to decide which party they should support.”

The Jana Morcha Nepal supports a republican state with a federal system, which leaves no place for old feudals, he said.

“There is no other way left for Jana Morcha Nepal except to go for an inclusive, republican and federal Nepal. Neither conservationist parties nor foreign forces can deter us from following this path,” he said.

Commenting on some leaders, who deserted the Jana Morcha Nepal recently, he said their move will not affect the party.

He, however, urged the leaders to come back and joint the movement for a republican state.

Addressing the same function, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, spokesperson for the CPN-Maoist, said a political polarisation is necessary to make the call for a republican system stronger.

In the present context, it is not possible for a handful of leaders to stay in a locked room and strike any agreement, he said. “The entire population of the country is watching us. Even a minor mistake in the peace accord will propel the people to come to the street against political leaders,” he said.

He termed the recent peace accord “incomplete”.

CPN-UML leader Rajendra Shrestha said: “We need to forge a common stance on monarchy to move ahead,” he said.

He said his party had adopted the concept of a federal structure, where there will be room for ethnic self-governance, too.