Koirala slams Prachanda for undermining democracy in Nepal By Shirish B. Pradhan

Kathmandu, Sept 27 (PTI) Nepal's former Prime Minister
Girija Prasad Koirala Saturday accused the Maoist leadership
of hatching a conspiracy to end parliamentary democracy in the
country.

"Maoist leaders — Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and
Mohan Vaidya — have started hatching a conspiracy to end
parliamentary democracy saying they have no faith in it,"
Koirala told a gathering in the capital.

"Prachanda has challenged the fundamentals of
parliamentary democracy by saying that he does not believe in
the traditional type of Parliamentary democracy," Koirala
said, adding, "If that is the case, I accept the challenge and
I am ready to fight against it to save the democracy," he told
a gathering of Nepal Students Union, the student wing of
Nepali Congress.

Koirala's remarks come at a time when Prime Minister
Prachanda is trying to convince the world leaders that Maoists
are committed to multi-party democracy and will respect human
rights and democratic principles in the ongoing 63rd General
Assembly of the United Nations.

Referring to Prachanda's remarks about a new socialist
political system that comes through the fusion of communism
and democracy, N.C. President said his party would never
accept such a communist model of socialism that spares
democratic rights.

"Prachanda pretends to be proletariat, calling
parliamentary democracy as 'bourgeoise democracy', but at the
same time he purchases a bed worth NRs. 150,000 and enjoys
luxurious life style," Koirala said.

Recalling the role played by his party to bring the armed
Maoists into the mainstream politics, Koirala said, "The peace
process has lost momentum and international support has
dwindled as the Maoists have ignored the culture of consensus
politics."

Questioning the Maoist led government's plan to integrate
former guerrilla combatants into the Nepal Army within six
months, Koirala said, "The Nepal Army does not belong to any
political party and it is the national army. Therefore, it
should not be politicised under any circumstances."

He also expressed serious concerns over the entry of
Maoist combatants with weapons in the Constituent Assembly
premises and said armed Maoist bodyguards had no right to
enter the Parliament.

Koirala also questioned the responsibility of the U.N.
Mission in Nepal, saying "how can the U.N. monitored weapons
enter the Parliament premises?"

Some C.P.N.-Maoist members, including bodyguards of
Maoist lawmaker Barshaman Pun, were caught with arms by the
Parliament security personnel while they were entering the
House Friday.

The Speaker had to adjourn the House following a
pandemonium over the issue. PTI SBP
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