Chand Maoist pin gov to free its cadre before the local election

If everything goes as planned there will be an local level election in three months time now. However, Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, which was once a outlaw, is worrying they might not participate in the election as hundreds of their cadres who were supposed to be freed now as per the agreement with the government are still behind the bars.

The CPN has expressed dissatisfaction over the government's inaction to implement the threepoint agreement reached earlier between the two sides.

The Chand-led CPN which has been transforming itself into a mainstream party after signing an agreement with the erstwhile KP Sharma Oli-led government on 4 March 2021. However, the party's serious concern has been drawn towards the government's neglect in addressing their two key demands - release of political prisoners and withdrawal of legal cases against them.

The party has also expressed dissatisfaction with the government for declaring the date of local elections without addressing their demands as per the agreement.

"Look at the double standard of the government. It call itself as democratic party but it is willing to hold the local level elecltion when hundreds of our cadres are still behind the bars," said Khadga Bahadur Biswokarma, the spokesperson for the Chand-led CPN.

Biswokarma also said there was possibility of them participating in the local elections if the government promptly implemented the agreement.

The Oli-led government had banned political activities of the CPN forcing the party to go underground following the 22 February 2019 Nakkhu bombing.

After that, the government had taken stern action against the party - hunting down cadres, arresting them in hundreds, and even engaging extrajudicial killings of a few.

The Chand-led party had then signed the deal with the Oli-led government for joining mainstream politics through peaceful means. However, in a period of nearly one year, only around 20 people have been freed and 35 legal cases have been addressed by the courts.

There are more than 600 cases filed against 100 senior cadres of the party who are behind bars across the country. However, nor the government neither the CPN knows for sure how many cases have been filed against how many our leaders in the country.

A joint meeting of Minister of Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand, Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dilendra Prasad Badu, Attorney General Kham Bahadur Khati, Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, and Law Secretary Udaya Raj Sapkota had recently CPN leaders in a bid to adreess their demands.

The government has agreed to find out the details about all arrestees of the party and all the legal cases filed against them. Agreement has been reached between the CPN and the government that such cases will be then addressed through the cabinet decision.