Playing the active role of opposition, Nepal’s former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has declared a massive war against the Maoists.
During the last few weeks, Koirala mounted pressure on the Maoist-led government by starting a series of verbal campaign. The former PM repeatedly accused the Maoists of not respecting the new democratic framework of Nepal.
Echoing Koirala, almost all the senior Nepali Congress leaders were vociferous against the government’s commitment to integrate the Maoist’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the Nepal Army this past week.
“We cannot allow the Maoists to integrate the radical communist indoctrinated PLA with Nepal Army,” Koirala said, adding that any attempt to integrate the armies will witness bloodbath in Nepal.
People in impoverished Nepal are scared of violence and bloodbath as during the decade-long people’s war; more than 13,000 people have been killed.
Despite his ill-health, Koirala, during the last one month, has been attending public meetings in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal and vowed to politically marginalise the Maoists.
Koirala threatened to launch a revolution and accused Prachanda of meeting Nepal’s ousted monarch Gyanendra Shah to hatch a conspiracy against the other democratic parties and create a communist country.
It is natural for Koirala and other senior leaders to be vindictive against the Maoists as Nepali Congress, the oldest political party in Nepal, suffered a humiliating defeat during the Constituent Assembly election.
{{/usCountry}}It is natural for Koirala and other senior leaders to be vindictive against the Maoists as Nepali Congress, the oldest political party in Nepal, suffered a humiliating defeat during the Constituent Assembly election.
{{/usCountry}}The veteran leader on Friday also accused the Maoists of trying to interfere in the independent judicial system. “They (Maoists) are trying to make a fusion of their people’s court and national judiciary,” he said, adding that it is an example of dictatorship.
Koirala also launched a major campaign to revitalise his ailing Nepali Congress him in a desperate attempt to revive his party’s position and shrink the Maoist’s popularity.
“We cannot allow the Maoists to transform Nepal like Cuba or North Korea,” Rajan Bhattarai, a Nepali Congress member from Morang district said, adding that the Nepali Congress will now have to play the active role of political equilibrium.
The revival campaign of Nepali Congress began on Saturday at Biratnagar, Koirala’s ancestral hometown.
During the meeting, the Nepali Congress leaders are likely to end the internal disputes within the party and forge a stronger campaign against the Maoist-led government. Koirala is likely to resolve his differences with former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba.