RAUTAHAT, SEPTEMBER 24

Though the two parties are partners in the ruling coalition, differences between CPN-Maoist Centre and Nepali Congress has delayed the village assembly in Rautahat's Durga Bhagawati Rural Municipality.

Durga Bhagawati is the only local level in Rautahat won by CPN-MC.

Besides the top two posts, the party has also won two ward chairperson's seats in the local level, but as the party apparently lacks majority, it has been unable to hold village assembly thus far.

Nepali Congress won three seats of ward chairperson and 16 of ward members in Durga Bhagawati.

'We've time and again talked to the elected representatives of Nepali Congress but to no avail,' said the rural municipality chairperson Shambhu Singh, adding it was unfortunate that attempts to hold village assembly had failed due to lack of cooperation from the coalition partner.

As per the rule, a local level must ratify its policies and programmes for the new fiscal and this should be endorsed three weeks before the end of the running fiscal. But even after a couple of months into the new fiscal, the local level hasn't been able to hold its village assembly.

As learnt, NC representatives had put forth 10 demands for holding village assembly. 'Some of their demands were clearly against the existing acts and regulations, so there was no way we could fulfil them, but unfortunately it is causing delay in holding the assembly,' the rural municipality chair said, urging the NC to cooperate.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 25, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.