In an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Sushila Karki, political parties have questioned the government, seeking assurances about the elections to be held on 21 Falgun.

In the discussion held at the Prime Minister's Office, Singha Dabar, the parties that spoke demanded an environment for the election, peace and security, fair elections, and an environment for free campaigning.

Prakash Sharan Mahat, who participated in the meeting on behalf of the Nepali Congress, raised the issue of how the government would ensure the election environment, peace and security, and the system for going to the voters to campaign for the election.

'We should be able to move around freely. There should be an environment for all parties to campaign for the election.' Mahat said in the meeting that a good environment has not been created for that so far. 'If the government ensures peace and security, the Nepali Congress is ready to participate in the election.' He responded to reporters after the meeting that the Nepali Congress is open to the option of re-establishing the parliament, but is in favor of going to the election if the environment for the election is created. He said that since the Prime Minister and the Election Commission have about 100 days, preparations should be on a war footing, but that this has raised suspicions.

He said that since he participated in the two all-party discussions called by the Prime Minister, the Nepali Congress does not have much to say now, but if it is going to go to the elections, it is necessary to create an environment for peaceful and fearless elections.

‘This government is the product of special circumstances. We have accepted it. The path to elections should not be blocked, but both we and the government should accept the orders in the pending cases in the court,’ Mahat said.

Mahat made this argument after Prime Minister Karki commented that moving towards the restoration of the parliament was anarchy .

He drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the fact that governments in the past have not been able to work fully on good governance, but some questions have also been raised about the current government.

‘Yesterday, when questions like this came up, we should have stood up in parliament. There are still questions now,’ Mahat said, ‘The government should not be unbridled. The government should focus only on the elections. ' He said that the people will decide who they want on the election field and that there should be no discrimination between big and small parties. After he spoke for a while and started walking, there was a commotion. Then he said that he would stay for a while and argued that today's incident in Simara had raised the question of whether it would be safe to go to the people.

Pradeep Gyawali, who participated in the meeting on behalf of the CPN-UML, urged not to question the CPN-UML's loyalty to the election as it is a party that fought for democracy. He claimed that it would be ridiculous to question its loyalty to the election now as the party formed in 2006 BS has proven itself in democracy many times. Similarly, he argued that arresting people in the middle of the night and the government should not comment on matters pending in the Supreme Court. He urged that whether arresting people in the middle of the night based on protest would facilitate the election environment or not.

He argued that it would be better if he participated in such discussions as the issue of security is linked to the Home Minister rather than the Prime Minister.

‘NCP-UML is not an anti-election party. We are not even afraid of the election. Our vigilance is also for the election,’ Gyawali said, ‘But fearlessness is needed in the election. UML’s program was not allowed in Simara. Our chairman has been given a place limit. How can election campaigning be conducted in such a situation.’ He claimed that five lakh leaders and cadres of CPN-UML are currently trying to mobilize for the election campaign but the Simara incident has hurt them.

‘We have an even greater responsibility to maintain peace. But let’s look at the police post in Baneshwor when it comes to security,’ he said, ‘What kind of work is the electoral government doing now. The government should not interfere in unnecessary matters. Why are there reports of unauthorized persons tampering with the data structure.’

He also questioned why the Prime Minister is silent on his own ministers on corruption issues.

Similarly, Rajendra Pandey, who participated in the all-party meeting on behalf of the Nepal Communist Party, raised the question of how the election will be secured in a situation where there are looted weapons, escaped prisoners and security personnel without offices and uniforms.

He said that there are reports that the Election Commission has not received even the money it asked for for the election, and asked why the government did not provide sufficient funds and how the Election Commission is preparing.

He said that the Simara incident was tragic and urged the government to pay special attention to prevent such incidents from happening. He claimed that the incident in Simara occurred when one person organized and another obstructed, and that such an attack would disrupt the security of the election.

Similarly, the people of the new party had commented that since the government was established by the Gen-G rebellion, it should also be strict in good governance.

They argued that action should be taken against the murderers who suppressed and ordered shooting during the Gen-G movement. They demanded the arrest of the murderers involved in the incident on the 23rd. They said that the people who should have been arrested on the first day of the formation of the government were not arrested, but now the incident in Simara, Bara has happened, and the people of the new party asked, 'If it happened in Bara today, will it happen in Sara now?'

They argued that since the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Khilraj Regmi had also made history by completing the election in the past, Sushila Karki should also make history.

Who were the participants?

According to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, Prakash Sharan Mahat from the Nepali Congress, Pradeep Gyawali, Mahesh Bartaula from the UML, and Barshaman Pun, Rajendra Pandey from the Nepali Communist Party were present in the meeting.

Similarly, Ganesh Parajuli from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Dhruv Bahadur Pradhan from the RPP were present. Similarly, leaders of various Madhesh pro-party parties also attended the meeting. The Prime Minister's Office has stated that leaders from new parties and parties representing Gen-G have also participated.

The Prime Minister said - 'If I succeed in holding the election, thank you'

^{Photos: RSS}

Prime Minister Sushila Karki has said that if any party boycotts the election, it will be considered that it has chosen anarchy.

The Prime Minister urged the parties not to thank anyone now, saying that she came to Singha Dubar with the responsibility of holding the election on 21 Falgun and worked day and night to fulfill that responsibility. 'I took the responsibility after the request after the murder and oppression of young children. I had said that my only job would be to hold the election through appointment,' Karki said, 'If I succeed in holding this election, thank you, otherwise it will not be necessary.'

She also claimed that this was not the time to raise the demand for the restoration of parliament, which would lead to more anarchy. ‘Any party that does not register a party or boycotts the election cannot be considered to have chosen anarchy over protecting democracy,’ Karki said. ‘If they now take a stand to re-establish the parliament, that action will only confirm that they are trying to repeat the political accidents of the past.’ Stating that the election was announced on Falgun 21 as a constitutional outlet for the political debate, Karki claimed that this announcement was the only necessary step to save the nation from a constitutional crisis and to keep democracy on track.

The Prime Minister made this comment at a time when the CPN-UML has launched a signature campaign to go to court demanding the restoration of the parliament and such a debate is also going on within the Nepali Congress.

Prime Minister Karki argued that this gathering is not just for formality but is a common platform and opportunity to demonstrate high political resolve to ensure the future of Nepal’s democracy.

‘The formation of the government was based on the legitimate anger of the young generation and the movement against decades of political instability. The youth gave a clear message, ‘The politics of corruption, misrule and access will no longer work,’ Karki said, ‘Therefore, the current option is to get a new mandate through elections.’

The Prime Minister claimed that there was no other alternative to elections, saying that the country was at a point where it had to answer the question of whether to ensure the future of democracy or push it further into a pit of uncertainty.

‘Concluding the election of members of the House of Representatives on Falgun 21 is our constitutional obligation and unwavering political commitment to the people,’ Karki said, ‘I want to make it clear that there is no confusion in our constitutional stance. Our commitment regarding the necessity of elections is also strong and clear.’

Even after the announcement of the elections, the confusion seen in some political parties on the fringes of politics, the demand for the restoration of parliament and the questioning of the legitimacy of the government will push the nation back into a cycle of instability, Karki said.

She also urged all parties to register their parties with the Election Commission by Mangsir 10.

‘I would like to humbly and firmly urge all parties to register their parties with the Election Commission for election purposes by Mangsir 10. This deadline is not just an administrative process,’ said Prime Minister Karki. ‘This is a test of your minimum political commitment to the nation. Any party that does not register its party or boycotts the election will be deemed to have chosen anarchy over protecting democracy.’