KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ today said they would continue to agitate both in the parliament and on the streets if the prime minister failed to pave way for discussing the President’s ‘unconstitutional’ step of reinstating the army chief in the parliament.

Talking to mediapersons at the Tribhuvan International Airport prior to leaving for the United Kingdom, Prachanda said the House was the best place to break the deadlock.

“Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal flatly denied our proposal to register a resolution motion on the President’s move in parliament,” chairman Prachanda said. He said the PM had asked them to impeach President Dr Ram Baran Yadav. “We urged the PM to stand against the unconstitutional step of the president.”

The former prime minister said his party would make efforts to forge a consensus among political parties. He added that the formation of a high-level political mechanism would be relevant only if it took an initiative to correct the President’s move.

Kiran’s rider for Maoist flexibility

Kathmandu: Senior vice-chairman of UCPN-Maoist Mohan Baidhya ‘Kiran’ today said his party was ready to be flexible in order to break the political deadlock.

“We are ready to show maximum flexibility to resolve this crisis but the government should take an initiative with a possible solution at hand,” he said, adding that his party was well aware of the strength of the 22-party ruling coalition. “The strength lies in the three main parties — Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Gachhadar-led Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic,” he said. “It is only the royalists who talk about a confrontation.”

Asking the government why it had agreed to address the Maoist concerns within a month if it did not intend to do so, Kiran said their protest would soften if the government started addressing their concerns. — HNS