'What PM said is party's official line'

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Minister for Education and Spokesman for the ruling Unified CPN-Maoist Dinanath Sharma today said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s statement that he would resign only after election of a new Constituent Assembly was party’s officials line.

Upon his arrival from Rio de Janeiro of Brazil after attending Rio+20 on Monday, Prime Minister Bhattarai had told the media at TIA that he would stay in office until a new Parliament came in place.

“Nobody is dissatisfied with what the prime minister said. Media reports that party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has objected to his statement are false and baseless,” said Minister Sharma today.

While opposition parties were swift to describe Bhattarai’s straightforward statement as his arrogance and haughtiness, rumour was rife that party Chairman Dahal had taken exception to his saying.

Stating that whatever the prime minister said was based on party’s mandate, Minister Sharma said, “The prime minister will not resign to invite further constitutional crisis in the country.” He added that the President had no constitutional power to remove the prime minister from his office. “What the President can do is call upon all parties for consensus on political and constitutional issues,” said Sharma.

Oppn to snub army integration meet

KATHMANDU: Education Minister Dinanath Sharma said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai was planning to call a meeting of the Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist fighters) on June 30. However, representatives from opposition parties in SC have said they will boycott any such meeting called by ‘an unconstitutional PM’. Minendra Rijal, who represents the Nepali Congress in SC, said they would not attend the meeting called by caretaker prime minister whose intention ‘is to cling on to power as long as possible’. “The PM wants us to follow his path for consensus, but NC will never follow Baburampath,” said Rijal. Bhim Rawal, an SC member representing the CPN-UML, echoed Rijal. “It’s the prime minister who is responsible for creating political and constitutional vacuum by allowing the only elected body — the Constituent Assembly — to dissolve,” said Rawal, adding that the country will continue to remain in political and constitutional turmoil as long as Bhattarai remains in power.