Calls grow in Nepal for restoration of Hindu state

Kathmandu: Nepal is witnessing a growing call for the restoration of the Hindu state.

The erstwhile Hindu state, adopted federal, secular, and democratic identity in 2008.

The changes took place after the CPN (Maoist) decided to join the political mainstream after shunning the decade-long "people's war" in 2006 that killed over 13,000 people.

Leaders of major political parties are calling for the restoration of the Hindu state in Nepal by establishing the 'Vaidik Sanatan Hindu State'.

The calls for the restoration of the Hindu state are also gaining strength inside the Nepali Congress, the grand old party of Nepali politics which is also the largest party in all three tiers of the government -- local, federal, and provinces.

As many as 950 general committee members of the party during the ongoing 14th 'Mahasamiti' meeting in Kathmandu have signed a petition calling for the restoration of the Hindu state in Nepal.

Over 2,200 Nepali Congress delegates are attending the Mahasamiti meeting which is considered as the highest-level policy-making body of the party.

Lawmaker and central working committee member of the party, Shankar Bhandari, is leading the campaign in the Nepali Congress for the restoration of the Hindu state.

Over 950 general committee members have signed the petition calling for the restoration of the Hindu state, said Lokesh Dhakal who is another leader of the campaign.

The majority of the general committee members are in favour of the Hindu state so the Nepali Congress should take the lead of this moment, the pro-Hindu campaigners have said.

On Wednesday morning, members of the Bhandari-led campaign went to meet Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and urged him to incorporate the agenda of the Hindu state and endorse it from the Mahasamiti meeting but Deuba rejected, said Dhakal.

The present situation of the country does not allow the party to adopt the agenda of restoration of the Hindu state, Deuba told the visiting delegation. However, Bhadari warned that there is popular sentiment inside and outside the party for the restoration of the Hindu identity of Nepal and if the Nepali Congress ignores such an important call, it will have a devastating effect on the party.

Senior Nepali Congress leader and former Secretary General Shashanka Koirala among others have signed the petition and more members will be joining the call on Wednesday and Thursday, said the leaders who are campaigning for restoration of the Hindu state.

Besides the Nepali Congress, the two other largest parties, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) are silent over the agenda of restoration of the Hindu state. However, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the fourth largest party in the parliament, has joined the chorus with the Nepali Congress.

The Rashtriya Prajatantra Party advocated the agenda of pro-monarchy, and pro-Hindu parties.

On Wednesday, the party held a rally in Kathmandu demanding the restoration of the Hindu state and monarchy and submitted a 40-point agenda to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

"The country has reached a critical stage so we need a new understanding and agreement among the political parties," said Rajendra Lingden, Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. But Prime Minister Dahal did not comment much on the issue of restoration of the Hindu state and monarchy as an institution, said Lingden.

He also informed the Prime Minister about their plan for a peaceful movement.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party also called for pursuing an independent foreign policy and redeclare Nepal as a "zone of peace" which was once announced by late king Birendra Shah in 1975 during the occasion of his coronation.

"We have demanded the restoration of the Hindu state, and monarchy and call for the government to end the inflation, ease the public's lives, undo the federal structures, corruption control, good governance, and other demands that are directly linked to the public's lives," said Mohan Shrestha, the spokesperson of the party.

The party is planning to organize a series of protests in Kathmandu from next month whose one of the major agendas is restoration of the Hindu state and monarchy in Nepal.