TRIVENIDHAM (NAWALPARASI), April 12: While terming the upcoming election a matter of ´life or death´ for the party, Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala has directed party cadres to start election campaign to make NC the largest party.
Addressing the concluding ceremony of the four-day Mahasamiti meeting that ended with a 16-point Trivenidhaam Declaration on Thursday, Koirala directed the Mahasamiti members to mobilize entire rank and file of the party for the election campaign. [break]
"Election environment has already begun. All of you should actively participate in the election campaign. Nepali Congress must win the election to safeguard democracy," he said.
Koirala said that the party should go unitedly in the election as this is going to be a matter of life or death for the NC. He also directed Mahasamiti members to settle on election candidates at the local level and recommend the names to the central committee.
Addressing the function, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba argued that the party failed to win the last election because the cadres and leaders were unprepared. "Election are due anytime soon. So, we must start preparations," said Deuba while directing Mahasamiti members to give their best for the elections.
Deuba also asked party president Koirala to move ahead by taking into confidence also those defeated in the last general convention for real unity in the party. "We need strong party to get victory in the election. This requires party unity. And that unity is possible only when there is reconciliation," he said.
Arguing that the Constituent Assembly (CA) failed to deliver new statute as NC did not have majority in the CA, Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel asked the party leaders to actively engage in election campaign to make NC the largest party.
All three leaders have assured Mahasamiti members to incorporate their views and suggestions in the political paper presented by Paudel. The Mahasamiti meeting has formed a nine-member committe under Paudel to incorporate those suggestions.
The 16-point Trivenidhaam Declaration has demanded that the Interim Council scrap all the political appointments made by the erstwhile Baburam Bhattarai-led government to ensure free and fair elections and hold the fresh poll by mid-December. The declaration has also decided to take special initiatives to hold talks with the disgruntled political parties to bring them onboard the election process.
While expressing commitment to return all unjustly seized properties by the Maoists during the conflict, the meeting has also flayed the discriminatory compensation offered to the conflict victims from the Maoist side and demanded equal compensation to them. The meeting also demanded probe into the massive corruption and misappropriation of state funds by the Bhattarai-led government and punishment for those involved.
Among other things, the Mahasamiti meeting has decided to take initiatives to withdraw all "fake cases" registered against NC leaders in various points of time including during the royal regime, hold general convention of all sister organizations and give full shape to the party´s sister organizations at the earliest. The party will also conduct orientation for the party cadres at district, region and village levels in view of the upcoming election.
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