Kathmandu, July 15 -- Weeks after the government declared the Communist Party of Nepal a criminal outfit on March 12, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said the Netra Bikram Chand-led party would join mainstream politics within a month.

Just four days before the government banned the Chand party's activities, the government on March 8 had made a truce with CK Raut, a "free Madhes" campaigner.

Many in the Oli administration were convinced that Chand too was not far from talks, as Raut, who for about a decade was in a bid to create a separate Madhes Pradesh, had already joined peaceful politics.

Months after Oli's claim, however, there has been no progress as far as talks with the Chand party are concerned.

Over the months, the government ha...