“People are in favor of rebellion in one way or other. Rebellion is inevitable if the constitution is not drafted by the stipulated date,” said Dahal.
He was addressing an interaction organized by the Informal Sector Service Center (Insec) in Biratnagar. Senior leaders of all the major parties also participated.
Chairman Dahal vented anger against the remark of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal that the Maoists would face the fate of the LTTE if they again resorted to violence. “What does it mean to say that the Maoists will turn out to be like the LTTE? Does this not tend to invite face-to-face war? Is it proper for a person in the post of prime minister to make such remarks?” he asked.
Dahal said he took the remarks of the prime minister seriously as, he claimed, he had heard then army chief Rookmangud Katawal making similar remarks when the Maoists were in power.
He said that they have doubts over the timely drafting of the constitution as New Delhi has started speaking openly against army integration and on issues related to constitution-drafting.
Also speaking on the occasion, Nepali Congress Vice-President Ram Chandra Poudel said it is necessary to conclude the peace process before drafting the new constitution.
CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said the newly-formed High-Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) will help complete the peace process and draft the new constitution within the stipulated time. He lauded the formation of the HLPM as a first step towards forging consensus among the political parties.
On the occasion, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) Chairman Upendra Yadav said the HLPM will not help forge national consensus. “This is not an effort to forge national consensus, but an effort to ensure power-sharing,” he said.
Yadav said that all parties should be included in the government on the basis of the vote they garnered in the Constituent Assembly election. He also claimed that the peace process cannot move ahead while sidelining forces like his party that emerged from the popular movement.
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