KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 25
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today said that the eight parties' understanding to support Nepali Congress candidate for president reflected national consensus as they were the signatories of the 12-point agreement and the forces that owned up the federal democratic republican order with inclusive democracy.
Addressing a programme organised by Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Memorial Foundation to mark the 101st birth anniversary of Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, the PM said collaboration with forces that signed the 12-point agreement and the constitution could alone achieve the goals of prosperity and development.
"Within a short span of two months, I felt uneasy being a partner in the seven-party alliance. I kept remembering Girija Prasad Koirala, the other signatory to the peace process and realised I had to play a role to protect the political changes, Dahal said, "We have our shares of ups and downs in our relations, but finally I have come to the right place," Dahal said about his decision to forge new alliance with the NC and other parties.
He said the UML would now choose to sit in the opposition, but it had already got the post of speaker and now as the NC was in the process of getting the post of president, the current deal reflected national consensus as it engaged all forces in the political process.
He hoped the NC candidate for president Ramchandra Paudel, a veteran democratic leader, would remain committed to democracy and work to protect national interests. Dahal said he told CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli yesterday to support the NC candidate for president to make him the national consensus candidate, but Oli refused.
The PM said former king Gyanendra's statement on Democracy Day made him realise that the seven-party alliance was not in the interest of the country. Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which advocates constitutional monarchy was part of the seven-party alliance. Stating that any alliance forged for lust of power does not last long, Dahal said if he cared about power, he had no reason to be dissatisfied with the current alliance that pledged support, but to protect the political gains - federal republican order, democratic constitution and to conclude the peace process - a new alliance of eight political parties was necessary. Dahal said the relevance of the new alliance had increased even more now as regressive forces were trying to derail the current political process.
NC leader and former deputy prime minister Bimalendra Nidhi said although his father Mahendra Narayan Nidhi took part in the NC-led armed rebellion against Rana rule in 1950, he pursued peaceful politics post- 1950 movement.
He said his party had made course correction by helping form the coalition of eight parties.
Those forces that concluded the peace process have come together to elect the new president. A long journey has begun to conclude the peace process and protect the political gains, Bimalendra Nidhi said.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
