Prime Minister and Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday said “a New Nepal” couldn’t be envisaged without a “revolutionary land reform program”, informing that it also has bearing on the ongoing peace process.
Speaking at the inaugural of an international conference on 'Securing Rights to Land for Peace and Food Security' that kicked off in the capital city, he said the government has put “scientific land reform” under its priority list and is also actively working to ensure the rights of landless as well as farmers.
Stating that the poor and the voiceless have been deprived of the rights to their own land as it has been under the control of landlords since ages, he pledged to put an end to this injustice once and for all.
The three-day conference has wide participation from both within the country and outside and will focus its deliberations on the problems related to land all over the world including land becoming a precious commodity in the wake of rising population.
One of the chief slogans of the Maoists when it fighting a vicious war against the state during insurgency time was “Tiller as Landlords”, by way of which it seized lands from big landlords and distributed it among landless farmers. Even before coming to power, the Maoists used to say that “scientific land reform” or equal distribution of land among the country’s populace is what it would strive for. nepalnews.com Apr 21 09
