'Will boycott until seized property is returned'

Kathmandu, Dec 22: Chief whip of Nepali Congress (NC) Laxman Prasad Ghimire has said that his party would not allow the parliament to function until Prime Minister Prachanda ensures the implementation of NC's demand for the return of property seized by the Maoists.

Kantipur quoted Ghimire as saying that the government is not serious about addressing the concerns raised by Nepali Congress.

"The Prime Minister is giving 3-4 hours every day participating in different programmes but he has no time to come to parliament and speak on our demands for 3-4 minutes," he added. He said the Cabinet must take decision and issue executive orders to the chief district officers on returning the property to the rightful owners.

The Nepali Congress boycotted the parliament session for the second time on Sunday demanding that the government clarify on the progress made in the implementation of its nine-point demand.

They also boycotted the Constituent Assembly (CA) held in the capacity of legislature-parliament expressing dissatisfaction over government's activities.

On November 11, Prachanda had pledged in parliament that his government would return all properties seized by his party by mid-December and the state would compensate for the losses incurred since July 10, following agreement between the Maoists and the then Seven-Party Alliance.

Other demands include dismantling the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League (YCL), discontinuing the deployment of the Maoist combatants for the security of the Maoist leaders and review of the terms of reference of the local peace committees. (ANI)