Maoists for inclusive economy

At a time when the Maoists are preparing to join an interim government, a senior economist close to the Maoists has revealed that they are in favor of "inclusive economy."

"The Maoists want to build an inclusive economy where all the stakeholders' interest will be considered," said Prof. Dr. Maheshwor Man Shrestha, an economic advisor to the Maoists.

Accusing the "feudal economic policies" for ruining the country's economic situation, Dr. Shrestha claimed the Maoists want to hold discussion in an open manner and without prejudice with all the stakeholders including workers and industrial/business community. "The Maoists aim to raise the standard of living of the people," he stated, speaking at a program titled "Economic Agenda for New Nepal", organized by Independent Business News – a group that runs a popular economic news program called "Artha ko Artha" in Nepal Television.

Furthermore, Dr. Shrestha said that in the immediate period, the Maoists want to bring out a relief package to the people and work to increase productivity of agriculture, among others.

Speaking at the program, former finance minister and standing committee member of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Bharat Mohan Adhikary said that "a new national consensus is required on economic agenda in order to restructure the state based on inclusion."

Dr. Minendra Rijal, spokesperson of Nepali Congress (Democratic), said the country needed to learns lessons from past failures of economic policies. He called for full decentralization of development policies. He also said that all concerned should try to convince the Maoists about the globally-accepted parameters of economic development. nepalnews.com sd Nov 29 06