Chairman of All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), the Maoist student wing, Lekh Nath Neupane, has warned party leaders of conspiracies that may be hatched by the royal palace if elections to a Constituent Assembly are delayed.

Addressing a mass meeting organised by the Maoists at Adarshanagar stadium in Birgunj, Neupane said the possibility of “conspiracies against the Nepali people cannot be ruled out as the King still controls the army.”

“A fair Constituent Assembly cannot be imagined until the Royal Nepalese Army is transformed into national army,” he added.

Addressing the gathering, vice-chairman of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Sushil Mittal, said businessmen were compelled to pay taxes to both the government and the Maoists. He urged the Maoists to stop collecting double taxes from traders.

Vice-chairman of the Maoist-aligned All Nepal Farmers’ Association, Bhakti Lamichhane and Secretary of the Federation of All Nepal Trade Unions, Rajan Timilsina, said Maoists were returning to peaceful politics to establish a democratic republic through Constituent Assembly.

Meanwhile, the prisoners of conscience, being held at Bharatpur Jail, have urged the CPN-Maoists not to hold dialogue with the government until all political detainees are set free.

Issuing a press statement on Friday, the detainees said that delay by the government in performing different tasks according to the mandate of the recent people’s movement has raised doubts about its motives.

There are altogether 50 prisoners of conscience in Bharatpur Jail.