KATHMANDU: CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun stated that the decade-long People’s War ensured equal rights in the state for communities and regions previously marginalized by the unitary and centralized feudal system.
Speaking at an event in Palpa, Pun emphasized that the constitution not only enshrines the principle of equality for all regions, castes, and communities in the eyes of the state but that this principle is already being implemented.
Pun highlighted the significant entry of marginalized groups into government service, noting that out of approximately 100,000 civil servants, 28,000 are women. He added that Dalit, Janajati, Madhesi, and Tharu employees are now commonly found in government offices, describing this as a historic achievement and a revolution.
However, Pun also pointed out a problematic trend where affluent individuals from oppressed communities and castes, including former Prime Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, Secretaries, and Joint Secretaries, are utilizing inclusive quotas to gain opportunities. He called for an end to this practice.
“Those who have already served as Prime Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, Secretaries, and Joint Secretaries, and those who have received good education from private institutions, should not receive opportunities through inclusivity,” Pun asserted. “My children, who have had a minister as a parent, should enter through competition, not inclusivity. Janajatis should get opportunities, but it should be the children of poor, farmer, and uneducated Janajatis who benefit. Dalits should get opportunities, but it should be the weak and marginalized Dalits, not the prominent Dalit leaders.”
Pun further hailed as a major achievement of the republic the abolition of the system where the ruler’s language was everyone’s language, the ruler’s culture was everyone’s culture, and the ruler’s attire was the national dress.
He noted that the republic now grants national recognition to the languages, cultures, and attire of all castes and communities.
He recalled how the sacrifice of Lakhan Thapa Magar, the first martyr of the anti-Rana movement, was ignored simply because he was Janajati. Pun proudly stated that it was during Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’s’ tenure as the first Prime Minister of Republican Nepal that Thapa was officially recognized as the first martyr.
Pun concluded by stating that after leaving the government, the party’s focus has shifted to “servicing the system.” He mentioned that they have completed the Terai-Madhes awakening campaign centered on the Hulaki Highway and are now engaged in a campaign focused on the Mid-Hill Highway. He also clarified that the party is not concerned with the government’s current arithmetic.
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