KATHMANDU, MARCH 16
Rastriya Janamorcha Chief Chitra Bahadur KC criticised President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the all-party meeting called by the president today, saying the president, without consulting stakeholders, endorsed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's recommendation to dissolve the HoR. He told mediapersons after the all-party meeting that both the PM and the president were responsible for the current political situation. KC said that the country could not afford election at present.
According to a participant leader, the prime minister told the meeting that if the parties were not ready to run the Parliament then they could go for early election.
According to Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal leader Rajendra Mahato, CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the all-party meeting was not an appropriate forum to discuss the dissolution of the HoR.
He said Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Paudel said that the president who was supposed to consult stakeholders before endorsing the PM's recommendation for dissolution, did so without consulting anybody.
Four parties represented in the federal Parliament - CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre), Nepali Congress and Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal - and three other parties, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, Rashtriya Janamorcha and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, whose representatives have the status of independent lawmakers, attended the meeting. Former prime ministers were also present in the meeting.
President Bhandari informed the leaders of her upcoming visit to Bangladesh.
President Bhandari is paying a two-day state visit to Bangladesh from March 22 to 23 at the invitation of the President of Bangladesh Mohammad Abdul Hamid.
The meeting has been called by the president at a time when the top parties in the Parliament are making a run for either sustaining the incumbent government or forming a new government by replacing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 17, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
