NA briefs PM on poll preparations

Chief of Army Staff General Rookmangud Katwal today briefed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on the Nepal Army’s preparedness for the upcoming constituent assembly polls.
Briefing the PM on the recent ‘coordination meeting’ of the NA’s division commanders, Katwal informed Koirala about the possible support the Army could provide for the election.
Anticipating the “worst-case scenarios” in the days ahead, the division commanders and other departmental heads discussed the Army’s preparedness in the two-day meeting.
The cases discussed include: “If the CA election does not take place on November 22 and is once again pushed further for some time in next spring; or if the CA election takes place on schedule, but the poll results do not appear as per the liking of a particular group.”
“In both the cases, a degree of violence is expected. The meeting concluded that while postponement of election may invite a civil war, the election result, on the other hand, may also instigate violence,” a General present in the meeting told this daily. He said the meeting has decided to get prepared for both the situations.
Apart from formulating strategies to tackle such situations, which would be implemented
if the government asked the Army to take action, the ‘coordination meeting’ also discussed
the current “total chaotic situation” in the Tarai. The division commanders discussed the activities of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, which is mandated to monitor management of arms and armies and assist the government in holding the CA polls.
They discussed the government’s reported intention to replace Army security by YCL’s security in certain “vital installations like television towers”. “Internally, we are soldier-focused, and externally we must be people-focused to win their trust that the army is transparent, accountable and democratised,” the General quoted Katwal as saying at the conclusion of the two-day meeting last Friday.
Katwal was accompanied by other departmental heads and division commanders when he went to brief the PM. “The army officers briefed the PM on the current security situation, and also assured him that the NA would always take the government’s order and remain committed to democracy,” according to a press statement released by the MoD.
The PM reiterated that the CA polls would be held on November 22. It may be noted that Maoist deputy commanders, including Janardan Sharma (Prabhakar), Nanda Kishor Pun (Pasang), and Baldev, have sought a role for the PLA during the poll campaign.