KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 25
Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, who lead a faction of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), were today cold-shouldered by Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal leaders when they went to urge them to join hands with their party to form a new government.
The two NCP leaders met Mahantha Thakur, Rajendra Mahato, and Rajendra Shrestha hoping to enlist JSP-N's support for NCP's endeavour to replace the KP Sharma Oliled government.
According to Mahato, Dahal and Nepal said they wanted the forces that fought against the 'regressive move' of Prime Minister Oli to join hands and form the next government. He was referring to the Dahal-Nepal faction of the NCP, Nepali Congress, and JSP-N.
JSP-N leaders didn't commit anything, saying Dahal and Nepal were leading only a faction of the NCP.
Mahato said for Dahal and Nepal the Supreme Court's decision to reinstate the House of Representatives meant an end to regression, but for marginalised communities, the first regressive step was taken by the NC and the erstwhile CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre during the drafting of the constitution when they brutally suppressed protests in Madhes against regressive provisions in the constitution.
JSP-N leaders said dozens of their cadres and leaders, including lawmaker Resham Chaudhary, who fought for their rights and identity were still in jail and the party would continue to fight for their cause. Mahato said Dahal and Nepal didn't propose any concrete deal, but only paid lip service to amending the constitution.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 26, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
