NC leaders deplore Maoists called strike

Two senior leaders of the Nepali congress have deplored a Maoists called transport strike in Narayani zone ahead of a scheduled Nepali Congress (NC) regional meeting which was said to be addressed by party president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

Addressing their regional mass meeting at Narayani Stadium in Birgunj, vice president of NC Sushil Koirala said Maoists were playing tactics to disrupt the peaceful gathering of people.Koirala said, "The panchayati regime

also used to employ such methods to disrupt the NC gatherings in the past."

"However, the NC has always fought against such autocrats and trounced them. If time demands, our party is ready to fight 'Maoist autocracy' as well," he said.

Similarly, NC General Secretary and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel said the obstructions posed by the Maoists aimed at disrupting NC mass meeting will 'obstruct the unity of eight parties.'

He also accused the Maoists of trying to disturb the NC in the terai after "flopping badly" in the region. "People should now recognize those trying to create communal disturbances and violence in the country through incidents such as Lahan and Nepalgunj."

The Maoist-affiliated workers union had called transportation strike in Narayani zone putting forward various demands including job appointments and salary provisions.