Former Prime Minister and senior leader of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Jhalanath Khanal has called for the leftists to move forward with long-term unity from today itself, saying that they have no option but to join hands. He made this call while speaking at an interaction program on the theme ‘Nepal’s Communist Movement and People’s Leader Madan Bhandari’ organized in Kathmandu on the occasion of Madan Bhandari’s 75th birth anniversary on Sunday. He said that the political situation in the country has once again made us realize the need for unity. He said that the presence of NCP Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli after a long time is a positive sign and urged us to transform the cooperation that started at the level of ideas into long-term political unity. He claimed that imperialist and reactionary forces are creating pressure on the country and said that there is no option but for the leftists to unite to face it. ‘Leaders of two major leftist parties are present here today. Some people may find this surprising. It may seem strange. But leftist unity is not just today, it has been needed for many periods. But in the intervening period, sometimes we grew horns, sometimes we grew thorns, and what not? That is why we could not unite in the past. Now time has started to catch up with us. The situation has started to put us in a forced situation. That is why today we leftists are uniting again,' he said.