Prachanda Claims Anti-Corruption Drive Led to His Ouster, Vows to Return to Roots in Rukum East

Kathmandu. The Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', stated that the class and elements opposed to the anti-corruption campaign forced him out of government. Addressing a gathering and training program organized by the Rukum East-Kathmandu Liaison Coordination Committee, he claimed that some forces disliked the steps taken by his government in favor of good governance, social justice, and prosperity.

Prachanda recalled that during his tenure as Prime Minister, he launched a relentless campaign against corruption and social discrimination. He asserted that while he was advancing the process of increasing the nation's prosperity by maintaining balanced relations with national and international powers, groups that disliked that campaign became active and toppled the government. He clarified that he is returning to the people because the determination of the public and the cadres is necessary to complete those unfinished campaigns of good governance and prosperity.

Explaining the reason for deciding to contest the upcoming elections from Rukum East, Prachanda stated that this was not merely about changing constituencies. He recalled that Rukum East is the central base area of the People's War and that the declaration of the republic in Nepal was made from the historic Chunwang meeting. Stating that the Chunwang meeting passed policies to empower women, Dalits, Janajatis, and oppressed classes, he said he is going there to honor the legacy of the unforgettable 'Labang meeting' and the resistance at Hukam-Maikot in the party's history. He mentioned that since the country is currently at a complex juncture following the 'Gen-Z' movement and various destructions, he chose Rukum East to unite the nation and take the movement to a new height.

Prachanda claimed he is not going to Rukum East just to ask for votes or win the election. He presented a plan to establish a new 'model' of development, production, and employment in Rukum East and develop it as the embryo of socialism. He shared his dream of preparing the foundation for socialism by providing employment to thousands of youths through the region's medicinal herbs, tourism, organic agriculture, and modern sheep farming.

He informed that during his third term as Prime Minister, he had declared martyrs of the People's War and disappeared combatants as national martyrs and published them in the gazette, and prepared a bill to provide employment and financial compensation to the victim's families. He mentioned the compulsion to go to Rukum to give the highest respect to the martyrs and the injured by starting the implementation of that bill from the base area. Prachanda expressed his resolve to dedicate the rest of his life to the nation, good governance, and socialism, and committed to fulfilling the aspirations and development desires of the people of Rukum East.