Arming the people

Nepalganj, Jan 10:

Minister for Culture and State Restructuring Gopal Kiranti said that every Nepali should enjoy the right to carry weapons because human rights and guns had become complementary at present.

He said that every Nepali must carry guns in self-defence because imperialist and expansionist forces had been lording over the people only because they had enjoyed the control on the bullet.

Speaking at a press conference organized by Revolutionary Journalists’ Association, Banke, Minister Kiranti said that the size of Nepal Army should be reduced and all the Nepalese should be trained militarily to protect the sovereignty of the nation. " If this is done then no imperialist and expansionist could undermine the sovereignty of a nation of more than 20 million militarily trained people."

He said that the state was equivalent to weapon and the constitution to bayonet, adding the bayonet-like constitution should be utilized for the betterment of the exploited and oppressed Nepalese.

The saying that the "Nepal is a yam between two big boulders" was a product of the mindset of old rulers. Nepal has now become dynamite situated between two boulders, the Minister claimed.

Those taking arms against the idea of republic in Terai are doing nothing but creating an atmosphere to bring back monarchy, he said.

In a query that the CPN-UML and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum have repeatedly warned to topple the government, Minister Kiranti said that talks of toppling the government by were baseless. "It is easier said than done."

He said that UML and Forum had got the important and key ministerial portfolios and the due to this the Prime Minister had found it quite difficult to run the government’s day to day work. Kiranti claimed that the present government was being run "as if it were being led by six prime ministers from six political parties."

The government is mulling to divide the nation in eight hundred local bodies in a scientific way with the view to bring the state and its people closer than before. However, the final decision on this matter will be taken by the Constitutional Assembly, he added.

He said that the government was forced to annul the appointment of the Nepali priests at Pashupatinath Temple because of the fear of eruption of violent activities. He however took solace that for the first time in the history of Nepal, Nepali priests observed worship at Pashupatinath for the seven days.

He also said that no matter what other said, the process of restructure of the nation would take place on the basis of caste, region and class. "There is no alternative to this."

Gorkhapatra 2009-01-10