KATHMANDU, July 5: Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that the People's Multiparty Democracy (PMD) doctrine propounded by late communist leader Madan Bhandari remains as relevant today as ever, urging against judging the future of Nepal's communist movement based on the outcome of a single election.
Addressing a seminar and the Madan Bhandari National Award-2082 presentation ceremony, marking the late leader's 75th birth anniversary, in Kathmandu on Sunday, Bhandari said recent election results should be viewed as an opportunity for self-assessment rather than as a basis for concluding the communist movement or the relevance of PMD.
Two left parties rally around former President Bhandari
She said Madan Bhandari had advanced the doctrine in response to Nepal's own political realities at a time when socialism was collapsing in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. According to her, the ideology established that socialist transformation could be pursued through multiparty competition, periodic elections, human rights and freedom of expression.
Bhandari also stressed the need for Nepal's communist movement to adapt its policies, organisational practices and working style to changing times, including the rise of the digital era and the aspirations of younger generations. She said developing practical policies on education, employment, healthcare, good governance, a production-oriented economy and national self-reliance would help strengthen the movement.
On constitutional reform, she said the constitution could be amended to meet changing needs but warned against altering its fundamental principles and values. She also argued that a directly elected executive system would not be suitable for Nepal's multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural society.
