KATHMANDU, Nov 22: Central leaders of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) have accused the CPN-UML of attempting to evade the upcoming elections out of fear that it may lose.
They alleged that UML is opposing the polls because it no longer controls the state apparatus and is afraid of facing voters under a neutral administration.
Living with fear
Speaking at a program organized in Bhaktapur on Saturday to announce the party’s Rapid Action Team (RAT), RSP leaders said refusing to go to elections reflects a “defeatist mindset.”
Party Secretariat member Ganesh Parajuli claimed that the deteriorating law-and-order situation cited by UML is, in fact, a consequence of UML’s own agitation on the streets. “If UML itself is creating disturbances across the country and then saying there is no security for elections, the contradiction is obvious,” he said.
Another Secretariat member, Lima Adhikari, said there is no alternative to holding elections, asserting that the RSP will emerge as the number-one party. In the context of Bhaktapur, she claimed the party would make history in Constituency 1, by securing its first victory since 1994 and secure victory in Constituency 2.
Central Secretariat member Hari Dhakal added that parties who consider themselves “big” will be reduced to their real size after the polls. “Their arrogance will evaporate once the election results come out,” he said.
