Dahal complains of betrayal

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Sunday that the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML betrayed his party by not implementing the midnight deal reached just before the extension of the Constituent Assembly (CA) term on May 28.

“There was a gentleman´s agreement, along with the three-point deal signed minutes before the CA extension deadline, that the prime minister would step down unconditionally within five days. But 15 days have passed since then. The ruling parties lied to us,” Dahal said during an interaction with industrialists in the capital.

The Maoist chairman argued that his party pushed for the resignation of the prime minister and national consensus government as the CA term extension itself was not a solution. “So an agreement was reached to move ahead with consensus. But we were betrayed,” he said.

Dahal urged the industrialists to pressurize the ruling parties into implementing the deal to write a new constitution and take the peace process to a logical end.

“The implementation of the deal will pave the way for a new political consensus. So you must pressurize the government from your side,” said Dahal who was flanked by party vice chairmen Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Narayankaji Shrestha.

The industrialists asked the Maoist leadership to clarify their economic policy, forge common minimum economic agendas among the political parties, and refrain from market shut-downs and road blockades to give the economy a new lease of life.

Replying the queries of the industrialists, Dr Bhattarai said his party wants nationalization of land to end the current semi-feudal land-owning system, accumulate national capital for investment and rev up the process of industrial development. "Then the pieces of land can be leased to the people," he said.

He also argued that the Maoist party would not end the system of private property. "Be assured that we would not end the system of private property. We cannot go further than that," he said adding that his party would only rev up the process of transition from“"semi-feudal system into a capitalist society".

According to him, the government would invest in certain sectors, while encouraging the national industrialists to invest in the rest.

He argued his party would take the country out of the rising imports and declining exports. He said the current balance of payment (BOP) crisis has its roots in Sugauli Treaty. "The export was five times more than import before the treaty. So we must understand the root causes and address them," he said.

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=19845