“We are protesting because we want peace at last for this country,” said Min Prakash Maharjan, 48, a NC supporter of 15 years.[break]
“We want peace in politics and we need a constitution to achieve this but the Maoists have stopped the writing of it.”
Democracy - a word that the NC closely aligns itself to - was also a wish stated countless times by political protesters marching to Basantapur.
“The NC is the true party which stands for democracy. This Maoist government is not for the nation,” said one middle-aged man to Republica.
Flanked by red NC flags, party banners and marching bands, this man said it felt “more like a festival” than a political march.
Supporters converged in the city to mark the 97th birth anniversary of deceased NC leader, Ganesh Man Singh, whose son later addressed the mass gathering at Durbar Square.
Harischandra Upadhya, 24, a politically active literature student at Tribuvan University, described himself as “a moderate” to Republica as his friends excitedly shouted slogans.
“We are students protesting the concept of an armed revolution,” he said, taking a stab at the ruling party´s militarized history.
“The thing is that I am for socialism. But the Maoists think that to bring socialism they have to change society through guns.”
But away from the packs of fervent students - who were notably in the minority in the NC march - the mood was more contemplative.
“I think the NC can also be divided because of the ambitions of its leaders,” said Kumar Regmi, a high-ranking party member and constitutional lawyer.
Like other protesters, he told Republica that the NC was “the only true democratic power in this country”, but that it needed to re-establish its power.
“Internal fighting has damaged the party´s credibility. Ideologically we are one but in practice we have division.”
Yet he said this was a better state of affairs than the Maoist´s viewpoint: “they don´t even have a legal plurality anymore.”
All protesters that Republica spoke to were divided over the issue of the Constitutional Assembly (CA) and whether it should be re-established.
For one woman - a minority in a crowd dominated by middle-aged men - the reason for marching was full of mixed feelings.
“This is a celebration but it is also a protest. I feel like the government right now is not supporting our nation,” she said.
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