Kathmandu, May 22:

Chairman of the Maoist-affiliated Newa Rastriya Mukti Morcha and newly elected Constituency Assembly member Hitman Shakya today urged Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to immediately step down and invite CPN-Maoist to form a new government.

Addressing a function to mark the 10th anniversary of the Newa Rashtriya Mukti Morcha, Shakya said, “A defeated party has no right to stay in power. The Prime Minister should immediately step down. Or else people would throw him out in the same manner they are going to throw the king from the power,” he said.

“The old parties are breaching the basic democratic norms by sticking to power even after the defeat in the polls. Girija Prasad is trying to become the first president, which is impossible. How can a leader of a defeated party become a president?” he asked, adding that it would invite massive protests if Koirala were to be made the president. He claimed that Prachanda was going to be the first president with full executive powers.

He said Koirala should either invite the Maoists to form the government, or join the government under Maoist leadership. “We challenge him to form a minority government and face our reaction. We are ready to remain in the opposition,” he said.

On conditions set by the three parties to join a Maoist-led government, Shakya said those were issues already settled by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and no further discussion

on them was possible.

He accused Koirala of being coordinator of the parties, which are trying to form an alliance to block the Maoists from making the government. “Koirala’s greed for power is the fundamental reason behind the political instability. This will only ignite conflict again,” he said.

He called on Newar CA members to hold a meeting soon to ensure an autonomous Newa state with rights of minority indigenous people.

“We are here (CA) because of our promise to make a Newa state. Now, the time has come to work for it through the constituent assembly,” he said.

He accused the ‘parties defeated in the CA polls’ of trying to hype Koteshwor incident to derail the achievement of Constituent Assembly polls.

“We have already said it (Ramhari Shrestha’s killing) was a big mistake. Still, a few people are trying to derail the achievement of the election and deviate people’s attention from the Constituent Assembly. We have played a disciplined role till now but we won’t stay calm if anybody tried to side step the political agenda,” Shakya warned.