Maoists won't entertain undue demands for support in PM race

THT Online

BHAKTAPUR: UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday said that his party will not entertain supererogatory conditions put forth by the political parties in order to garner their support in the prime ministerial election.

“We have made it clear (to the parties) that we won’t accept unnecessary demands just to get the government lead,” he told the media after holding a meeting with the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party chairman Narayan Man Bijukchhe at the latter’s residence in Kamal Binayak, Bhaktapur this afternoon.

Dahal is one of the two candidates vying for the hot seat. The runoff is slated for August 2.

He, however, maintained that the UCPN-Maoist upholds the aspirations of the marginalised communities including Madhesis, Dalits, Muslims and Janajatis.

Accompanied by one of the vice chairmen of the party, Narayankaji Shrestha, Dahal had called on Bijukchhe in order to seek the NWPP’s votes in the prime ministerial runoff.

Bijukchhe said he told the Maoist leaders that the NWPP would support the Maoist candidate only if they opposed the Madhes-based parties’s condition to set up single Madhesh province.

The Maoist leaders, however, committed to address the 15-point demand of the NWPP announced on July 21.

“We discussed the 15-point demand raised by the NWPP to be fulfilled by the new government,” said Shrestha.

According to him, Bijukchhe was positive about supporting Dahal. “We expressed commitment to the concerns raised by the NWPP as all those points were directly related to Nepali people and the country’s welfare,” he said, adding that both the parties agreed to form a two-party mechanism to ensure the implementation of those issues.

“We also told NWPP that few of the demands should be sorted out jointly by all the parties and the Maoists would take the initiation to implement them.”

Shrestha said his party would sit for talks with the United Democratic Madhesi Front at 1 p.m. at Singha Durbar on Saturday.