KATHMANDU – The Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed the Nepal Police not to arrest leaders and cadres of Netra Bikram Chanda ‘Biplav’-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).
The government instruction comes amid preparation to bring the Biplav-led CPN to peaceful politics.
According to a senior police officer, the police will pursue a ‘soft approach’ toward the Biplav-led CPN as the government is holding dialogues with the party which was outlawed in 2019.
The police will now back down from its policy to arrest Biplav-led party cadres wherever they are seen, according to the police officer.
“The government and the Biplav-led party are holding talks. We cannot become aggressive toward them even from a theoretical point of view. We have also received an instruction from the government after the second round of talks held with them yesterday. We will move ahead in line with the government’s instruction,” said the police officer.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government-led committee and Biplav-led committee had concluded two rounds of dialogues.
The Biplav-led committee is said to have put forth their demands to lift a ban on their party and release their leaders and cadres arrested by the government, according to a government source.
Home Minister Badal Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s foreign affairs advisor Rajan Bhattarai are in the government committee announced on Tuesday.
A few hours after the government’s announcement, Biplav had also formed the high-level two-member committee led by Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma ‘Prakanda’ with Udaya Chalaune ‘Dipak’ as member.
According to government’s dialogue committee’s member Bhattarai, the dialogues are heading toward a positive direction.
