Role of Democratic Thought Society vital in consolidating democracy: NC President Deuba

Kathmandu: Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, has said that the Democratic Thought Society has an important role to play in making democracy strong and robust.

Addressing to the Society's 26th General Assembly and Democracy Fighters Honour Programme here today, the NC President stressed on the need of forging ahead by consolidating democracy.

He said the former minister Yog Prasad Upadhyaya had played an important role in making democracy and the NC's organization stronger. "Yog Prasad jee(honorific) is not only the senior leader but a big leader of the political movement. I am pleased to honour a person who fought for democracy in course of the 1960 movement, remaining abroad," he added. On a different note, the main opposition party leader said that the decision on the Giribandhu Tea Estate was taken during the time when UML was in the government and not when the NC was in the government.

"The NC should not be blamed for (misappropriation of the land belonging to the Giri Bandhu Tea Estate)," he said. Nepali Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala said the NC was raising the issue in parliament what the people have been raising on the streets. "The NC that was not cowed by the King's threats will not be intimidated by the threat of any political party," he said.

Stating that the country is in a complex situation of late, Dr Koirala said the Nepali Congress should come forward to bail the country out of this situation. He urged Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who also handles the police administration, should cooperate in investigations into the cooperatives fraud in which he is also implicated. Koirala opined that the current electoral system has invited instability in the country and suggested reforming the election system, paving the way for a single party securing majority votes in the parliamentary elections.

NC leader Arjun Narsingh KC said the Congress has called for formation of a parliamentary investigation committee to address the voice of the hundreds of thousands of the cooperative victims. He said the parliament would not be allowed to carry out its business until a parliamentary probe committee is formed, reminding that the UML had also obstructed the parliament's proceedings for 22 days calling for formation of an investigation commission to probe the 'gold scam'. Pradip Poudel said the party needs the Society's 'important' suggestions for making the party stronger.

"We had to include in the constitution several topics that we did not like while drafting the constitution. Now, we need to move ahead correcting these," he said. Constitution expert Dr Bhimarjun Acharya shared o the occasion that a report prepared in 2023 put Nepal in the 71st position globally in terms of the effectiveness of constitution implementation.  "The country which makes frequent changes to the constitution never attains stability," he said, adding that democracy is weakening as, according to him, there are people selected and send by parties in the courts.

Former Minister Suresh Malla called on the Society to forge ahead to make democracy stronger when it is in crisis while the Society's immediate past president Dr Kedar Narsingh KC urged for taking forward the Society as the party's ideological forum. On the occasion, NC leader and former minister Yog Prasad Upadhyaya was honoured with the 'Democratic Fighter Honour'.

He was awarded Rs 25 thousand and presented with a copper plaque. Society president Kula Chandra Wagle said the Society has been moving ahead promoting democratic culture and system. The Society was established in 2052 BS.