Communist leaders discuss republican model

On the very day Nepali Congress (NC) braced up to go for democratic republicanism, two biggest communist parties – Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) and Maoists – engaged in discussion about the model of the republic Nepal, reports Kantipur daily.

On Tuesday night Maoist chairman Prachanda and Unity Center (Masal) general secretary Narayankaji Shrestha 'Prakash' met with UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal at his Koteshwor residence for consultations on current political issues, according to the daily.

Concluding that NC wanted a "Bihari brand" republican set up, the leaders who participated in the discussion said that they had reached agreement to immediately forge a leftist unity or form a front.

"The model of the republic should be people oriented, and there was discussion on this very matter," Narayankaji Shrestha told the daily Wednesday, adding that the issue of national sovereignty is also connected with the kind of republic being discussed.

"However, by declaring the country a republic to suit the interest of foreigners, there is a deliberate attempt of giving an impression that the people are sovereign," he said.

The leaders are of the belief that since the country would be declared a republic in name only, but the state structure would remain as it is, the republican set up here would be "Bihari styled".

He said the communist parties discussing the model of republican set up on the very day NC was bracing up to opt for republicanism, however, was a mere coincidence.

During their meeting the three leaders also discussed their joint future strategy and mulled at questions like how should communist powers come together to forge unity and what kind of ties they should develop with other parties sharing similar views with them. nepalnews.com ag Sep 07 07