The prime minister said that integration of the Maoist combatants would be carried out as per the wishes and desires of the individual combatants. “There is a need to move forward through the drafting of a new constitution after the completion of army integration,” he added.
The prime minister also pointed out the need to end the politics of violence and rejection to bail the country out of the current political uncertainty. Hinting at Maoist protests against the government, he added, “In democracy there is a need to listen to other´s concerns and exercise flexibility.”
Lauding the contributions made by the late Mahatma Gandhi in spreading the principle of non-violence, he said any change in the country should be brought about with the help of the people, not through the help of bullets.
Also addressing the function, Indian National Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said that every change is possible through non-violence. “Non-violence is not weakness, but a powerful weapon,” he said.
He asked one and all not to accept a government that does not allow people to exercise their individual freedoms as various systems of governance are being practiced in various parts of the world lately. "Such a form of government is against the nature of human beings,” he added.
Stating that democracy is deep-rooted among people in India, Dwivedi said no one can overthrow democracy in India for the next 200 years. He also wished that democracy would become deep-rooted among the Nepali people as well.
Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the ideals upheld by Mahatma Gandhi are equally relevant in the context of Nepal. He added that the Maoists coming into mainstream politics after renouncing violence has shown that violence cannot bring change. “The 19-day people´s movement in April 2006 defeated the weapons of both the king and the Maoists,” he further said.
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