KATHMANDU, March 4: The government has decided to lift the ban imposed against the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).
A cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Baluwatar on Thursday made the decision after endorsing a three-point agreement reached between the government and the Chand-led CPN reached a three-point agreement on Thursday. As per the agreement, the Chand-led group has decided to renounce violent political activities and join mainstream politics.
The government's talk team leader and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa said Prime Minister K P Oli and CPN's General Secretary Chand will address a special function to be organized in the capital on Friday to announce the agreement reached with Chand-led group.
The government in March, 2019 had branded Chand-led group a criminal outfit and banned all its activities. This came shortly after the group owned up two separate incidents of bomb explosions in Kathmandu.
Chand was a senior leaders of then underground CPN (Maoist)-led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. He had deserted the Maoist party in 2012 along with Ram Bahadur Thapa, who is now serving as Home Minister in the K P Oli-led government.
Although Chand and Thapa vowed to take the Maoist revolution forward through "unified revolution", Thapa chose to part away from Chand, who formed a party under his leadership, and join Dahal back. The success in the talks between the government and the Chand-led group comes at a time when Thapa is heading the country's home administration.