KATHMANDU, JULY 18

Nepali Congress Vice-president and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka told the NC Central Working Committee meeting that the party decided to give vote of confidence to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the PM had assured his support to the NC candidate for president.

PM Dahal's party CPN-Maoist Centre supported NC leader Ramchandra Paudel in his bid for president.

Khadka said the old alliance comprising NC and the CPN- MC broke up on December 25, but the effort to break the new alliance of CPN-MC and CPN- UML started the same day and it was due to the result of those efforts that the NC decided to vote for the PM during vote of confidence 16 days later.

'We, as opposition party, had voted for CPN-UML leader Manmohan Adhikari when he became the PM in 1994.

That was not an easy decision. This time again, it was not easy for us to vote for PM Dahal, but we did to build trust,' Khadka said and added that party leaders had discussed the idea of breaking the CPN-MC and CPN-UML alliance even if that had entailed giving up the post of president.

He said the formation of CPN-MC-CPN-UML coalition after the last general election led to a bizarre situation where the NC being the largest party in the House of Representatives was out of power at both the federal and provincial levels.

Khadka said it was an achievement that despite the adverse situation the party emerged as the largest party in the HoR after the general election.

NC Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said the NC, being the largest party in the Parliament, had the responsibility of effectively running the House. If House proceedings get stalled, people seek explanation from us. So we have the responsibility to ensure that House proceedings run smoothly and effectively, Lekhak added.

He said the main opposition UML became aggressive as the NC joined the alliance after CPN-MC broke away from the UML alliance. 'The main opposition party is not only aggressive but also impatient,' he added.

Lekhak said other opposition parties were aggressive, impatient and also immature as they were new in politics.

Lekhak's remarks were aimed at new political parties representing in the House of Representatives, particularly the Rabi Lamichhane-led Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rajendra Lingden-led Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

The NC must win confidence of both the ruling and opposition parties to run the House effectively. Lekhak said that the NC needed to lead the effort to make required laws and policies for the sake of progress.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.