Maoist leaders said people should not fear the rise of a Communist dictatorship in the coming days and pledged to deal with those extorting money from the public in the name of Maoists.

Speaking at an interaction organized by Human Rights Organisation of Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday, central committee member of the Maoists, Suresh Ale Magar said, “There is no need to fear that an autocratic communist regime will take over in this day and age of the twenty-first century.”

However, Maoist leaders said they should be allowed to accept donations from people since the party relies on public funds.

Politburo member of Maoist Matrika Prasad Yadav said, “Our party runs through public donations and support and we do not take any international funding like the government.”

He further said that the pro-royalists are attempting to tarnish the image of the Maoists.

However, there have been reports of Maoist extorting money and threatening people in different parts of the country.

Yadav also criticised the media for hyping the Maoists’ minor mistakes and hinted the media would be given conditional press freedom. “We will give press freedom to the media but not to work against the people,” he said.

The leaders said that they would take up the civil society’s suggestions in the party headquarters soon.

Human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar urged the Maoists to go for a peaceful revolution and win the people’s hearts. “Sovereignty should lie with the Nepali people and issues of minorities and ethnic communities should be addressed,” he said.

On international mediation on the peace process, human rights activist Malla K Sundar said facilitation is crucial for a successful negotiation between the government and the Maoists.